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UC-NRLF 


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OMMUNITy 

Drama 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


i 


http://www.archive.org/details/communitydramasuOOcommrich 


Community   Drama 


Community  Drama 


Suggestions  for 

A   Community  Wide  Program 

of 
Dramatic  Activities 


Community  Service 
One  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City 

November^  ig2i 
Price,  60  Cents 


qobs 


Copyright,  1922 

By  Community  Service 

(incorporated) 

New  York 


Table  of  Contents 

PAGE 

Foreword 4 

Introduction 5 

Chapter 

I.     Some  of  the  Factors  Involved  in  the 

Organization  of  Community  Drama  7 
Creating  the  Desire  for  Commun- 
ity Drama 8 

Knowing  the  City's  Resources ...  9 

Individual  Dramatic  Groups ...  11 

II.     Organizing  for  Community  Drama.  .  .  19 

III.  The  Drama  Institute 29 

IV.  Forms  of  Drama  and  the  Community 

Drama  Program 37 

V.     Play  Production 45 

Some  of  the  Principles  of  Play 

Production 45 

Scenery 49 

Lighting 53 

Make-up 60 

VI.     The  Community  Dramatic  Center.  .  .  64 

Using  Existing  Facilities 64 

The  Special  Dramatic  Center  ...  65 

The  Workshop 66 

The  Community  Theatre 69 

VII.     Educational  Dramatics  and  Children's 

Theatres 78 

VIII.     Pageantry 86 

IX.     Outdoor  Theatres 98 

X.     Rural  Dramatic  Organization 106 

Appendix 119 

48682S 


Foreword 

^^ripHE  DRAMA,"  says  Professor  Arvold,  "is 
JL  a  medium  through  which  America  must 
inevitably  express  its  highest  form  of 
democracy.  .  .  .  When  it  can  be  used  as  an 
instrument  to  get  people  to  express  themselves  in 
order  that  they  may  build  up  a  bigger  and  better 
community  life  it  will  then  have  performed  a  real 
service  to  society." 

The  conception  of  the  play,  the  pageant,  of  all 
forms  of  the  drama  as  a  fundamental  and  vital 
means  of  self-expression  for  the  individual  and 
the  community,  has  ccme  into  its  own.  From 
the  Little  Theatre  of  North  Dakota,  the  Carolina 
Play  Makers  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
to  the  neighborhood  theatres  of  New  York  and  other 
large  cities,  small  and  large  communities  are  every- 
where discovering  the  power  of  the  drama  in  develop- 
ing inner  resources,  in  creating  an  expressive  art 
life,  in  interpreting  people  to  one  another  and  in 
building  up  a  bigger  and  better  community  life. 

This  booklet  has  been  prepared  with  the  purpose 
of  making  available  for  dramatic  workers,  com- 
munity groups  and  all  interested  in  building  up 
community  drama  in  arty  of  its  phases,  information 
and  suggestions  based  on  experience  and  successful 
accomplishment. 


I 


Introduction 

WHAT   IS   COMMUNITY   DRAMA? 

a  T  AM  not  interested  in  art  for  the  few,"  said  Sam 
Hume,  speaking  before  a  group  of  Community 
Service  workers.  "I  am  interested  for  all.  It 
has  a  democratic  appeal.  It  must  be  for  the  people  as  a 
whole  and  it  must  give  them  opportunity  for  participa- 
tion." 

Community  drama  is  drama  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  for  the  people.  It  provides  an  opportunity  for 
all  the  people  who  want  to  express  themselves  through 
dramatic  art.  It  develops  the  inner  resources  of  the 
individual  by  constantly  evolving  new  interests  and  ideas. 
It  makes  leisure  hours  creative.  It  affords  a  channel 
for  creative  work  along  the  line  of  things  which  can 
be  written  or  produced.  When  a  play  or  a  pageant  is 
actually  written  in  a  community,  and  produced  and  acted 
by  its  own  people — that  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction. 

Community  drama  has  unlimited  powers  of  growth. 
It  gives  one  set  of  individuals,  the  players,  a  chance  to 
develop  unused  talents.  It  calls  into  play  the  resources 
of  still  another  set  of  people — those  of  the  community 
who  have  a  contribution  to  make  along  the  line  of  all 
the  manifold  forms  of  art  which  enter  into  drama 
production.  It  utilizes  all  existing  facilities.  There  is 
an  opportunity  for  every  city  to  build  up  the  use  of 
high  school  auditoriums  as  places  where  plays  may  be 
given.  Churches,  parish. houses,  settlements,  town  halls, 
factories  may  all  serve  as  neighborhood  theatres  where 
groups  of  people  may  find  their  recreation  through 
dramatic  expression. 

Community  drama  at  its  best  has  deeply  influenced  the 

[  Fire  1 


professional  theatre.  Not  only  is  this  true  of  the  com- 
munity theatre  of  today  but  of  the  theatre  of  yesterday. 
Pre-Shakespearian  drama  was  almost  wholly  in  the 
hands  of  amateurs.  Merchants  and  wheelwrights, 
weavers  and  dyers,  took  part  in  plays — each  guild  striving 
in  friendly  rivalry  to  make  its  play  and  its  settings  the 
best.  This  fine  folk  art  broadened  popular  appreciation 
of  the  best  in  drama,  and  made  straight  the  way  for 
the  great  dramatists  who  were  to  come.  It  helped  to 
send  an  imaginative  audience  into  the  theatre.  "Without 
great  audiences  there  cannot  be  great  poets,"  was  the 
dictum  of  Walt  Whitman — a  dictum  which  has  proved 
true. 

To  secure  the  wide  participation  on  the  part  of  all 
community  groups,  which  was  the  firm  foundation  of 
the  drama  of  yesterday,  is  the  purpose  of  community 
drama  of  today.  But  the  fact  that  community  drama 
does  not  limit  participation  to  a  highly  trained  group 
does  not  mean  that  standards  are  to  be  lowered.  David 
Mannes  has  recently  reminded  us  that  the  word  amateur 
means  "art  lover."  Community  players  are  art  lovers, 
experimenters  with  the  art  of  the  theatre  for  the  love 
of  it.  Standard  is  the  touchstone  of  community  drama. 
To  do  well  whatever  is  undertaken  should  be  the  watch- 
word of  community  drama. 


Six 


CHAPTER  I 

SOME  OF  THE  FACTORS  INVOLVED   IN   THE 
ORGANIZATION   OF   COMMUNITY   DRAMA 

IF  community  drama  means  wide-spread  participation 
in  dramatics  on  the  part  of  many  people;  if  it 
means  an  ever-growing  appreciation  of  the  best  in 
the  drama  and  of  art  standards,  how  is  a  program  to 
be  built  up  which  will  be  jJermanent  and  not  sporadic — 
which  will  move  in  ever  widening  circles? 

In  planning  for  the  organization  of  the  dramatic 
forces  of  a  community  and  the  building  up  of  community 
life  through  the  drama,  certain  essentials  stand  out  as 
fundamentally  important. 

There  must,  first  of  all,  be  an  understanding  of  what 
community  drama  is  and  what  the  community  values 
involved  are,  so  that  all  plans  will  work  toward  the 
definite  objective  of  community-wide  participation  and  a 
development,   however   gradual,   of   art  standards. 

There  must  be  created  a  real  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  community  for  community  drama. 

There  must  be  a  knowledge  of  the  city's  resources. 

There  must  be  trained  leadership  and  the  building  up 
of  strong  volunteer  leaders. 

There  must  be  built  up  an  organization  which  will 
be  widely  representative  of  community  groups  and  of 
individuals  who  have  some  contribution  to  make. 

Any  plan  of  organization  evolved  must  work  toward 
the  relating  of  the  various  dramatic  groups  so  that  their 
work  will  not  only  have  value  in  their  own  locality  but 
will  bear  a  definite  relationship  to  the  dramatic  work 
of  the  whole  city. 

Plans    for   organization,    if    they    are   to   be    compre- 

[    Seven  ] 


hensive,  must  take  into  consideration  the  establishment 
of  centers  wherever  feasible ;  the  development  of  educa- 
tional dramatics;  the  provision  for  outdor  plays  and 
pageants  and  the  working  up  of  a  forward-looking 
program  representing  a  continuous  development  for  a 
series  of  years. 

Creating  the  Desire  for  Community  Drama 

Conditions  within  the  community  must,  of  course, 
determine  the  method  of  approach,  which  cannot  always 
be  along  the  same  lines.  Some  dramatic  leaders  in  going 
into  a  community  where  there  is  little  interest  in  com- 
munity drama  have  found  it  helpful  to  put  on  a  festival 
quickly  arranged,  but  well  done,  which  will  draw  in  a 
large  number  of  participants,  or  to  produce  a  play  in 
arranging  for  which  many  people  have  a  share.  It  is 
important  that  whatever- is  produced  shall  not  extend 
over  a  long  period  of  time.  Many  feel  that  a  pageant 
requiring  a  large  number  of  rehearsals  would  tend  to 
exhaust  people.  Whatever  is  planned  would  be  merely 
for  the  purpose  of  arousing  interest  and  giving  tnc 
people  of  the  community  a  taste  of  what  community 
drama  is  and  thereby  creating  a  desire  for  more.  Once 
interest  is  aroused  it  is  possible  to  proceed  with  the 
organization. 

Constance  D'Arcy  Mackay  has  suggested  that  one 
means  of  arousing  enthusiasm  in  groups  of  people  is  to 
read  a  play  aloud  at  a  gathering  of  representative 
people,  afterward  showing  a  small  stage  model  artisti- 
cally designed  and  lighted.  There  may  well,  too,  be 
plates  of  the  accompanying  costumes. 

Another  method  of  interesting  a  community  not  pre- 
disposed to  community  drama.  Miss  Mackay  has  sug- 
gested, is  to  have  an  example  of  spontaneous  story  play- 
ing or  educational  dramatic  work  given  by  a  group  of 
children.    When  people  see  the  power  of  drama  actually 

•  I  Eight  I 


being  used  as  an  educational  force  they  are  more  readily 
induced  to  make  further  use  of  it. 

Knowing  the  City's  Resources 

In  making  plans  for  the  thorough  organization  of 
community  drama  which  will  mean  the  building  up  of 
a  real  art  life,  it  is  essential  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the 
city's  dramatic  resources.  Those  who  are  responsible 
for  the  development  "must  therefore  ask  themselves  the 
following  questions : 

(1)  Has  a  complete  dramatic  survey  of  the  com- 
munity been  made? 

(2)  Are  there  any  groups  making  the  promotion 
of  dramatics  their  chief  purpose? 

(3)  What  are  the  libraries  doing  to  stimulate  inter- 
est in  community  drama? 

(4)  What  are  the  schools,  settlements,  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association,  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  women's  clubs,  factories 
and  other  local  groups  doing  to  promote  drama? 

(5)  What  is  the  church  doing?  Have  any  Biblical 
plays  been  produced  in  the  Sunday  Schools? 
Have  other  plays  been  produced? 

(6)  Has  there  ever  been  any  city-wide  celebration? 

(7)  How  are  the  various  holidays  being  accented? 

(8)  How  many  outdoor  plays  and  pageants  have 
already  been  given?  Have  they  been  of  a 
fine  type? 

(9)  What  is  the  standard  of  children's  and  young 
people's  dramatics  in  the  community? 

(10)  Has  anything  been  done  to  develop  educational 
dramatics? 

(11)  What  is  the  standard  of  adult  dramatics  in  the 
community? 

I  Nint  J 


(12)  Has  a  circuit  for  groups  of  players  been 
arranged  ? 

(13)  What  is  the  problem  of  the  regular  profes- 
sional theatre? 

(14)  Are  the  movies  good,  bad  or  indifferent? 

(15)  If  the  town  is  of  medium  size,  is  there  a  good 
local  stock  company? 

(16)  Does  this  stock  company  co-operate  with  the 
schools,  giving  an  occasional  Shakespearian  play 
at  the  time  when  the  schools  are  studying 
Shakespeare? 

(17)  What  is  the  problem  of  the  vaudeville  houses? 
Are  they  good,  bad  or  indifferent?  How  much 
do  the  young  people  of  the  community  frequent 
the  vaudeville  houses? 

(18)  How  many  auditoriums  are  available? 

(19)  Are  these  auditoriums  adequate?  Are  they 
equipped  with  new  or  old  scenery?  If  they  are 
equipped  with  old  scenery  can  anything  be  done 
to  better  what  exists?  Secure  all  possible  in- 
formation regarding  all  the  facilities  of  existing 
auditoriums. 

(20)  Is  there  a  permanent  meeting  place  where  all 
local  dramatic  information  is  kept  on  file? 

(21)  Is  there  a  community  theatre  which  focuses 
all  the  art  activities  of  the  community? 

(22)  Is  there  an  open  air  theatre  where  outdoor  plays 
and  pageants  can  be  produced? 

(23)  How  can  a  strong  permanent  community  drama 
committee  best  be  formed? 

(24)  In  attacking  the  dramatic  problem  is  it  best  to 
begin  in  a  large  way  or  a  small  way?  (What 
has  already  been  done  will  influence  the  answer 
to  this  question.) 

(  Ten  ] 


(25)  In  order  to  make  an  entering  dramatic  wedge 
in  a  given  community  what  should  be  the  first 
point  of  contact?  The  dramatic  club?  The 
schools?    The  churches?    The  factories? 

(26)  How  much  expert  leadership  does  the  com- 
munity already  possess? 

(27)  Is  there  any  attempt  to  train  dramatic  leaders? 
(28>    Has   a   dramatic   institute   or   conference   ever 

been  held  in  the  community? 

What  of  outlying  districts?  If  the  city  is  a  large  one 
what  is  being  done  in  the  surburbs?  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  community  has  not  more  than  25,000  people, 
it  is  interesting  to  know  what  the  smaller  towns  round 
about  have  been  doing.  Are  they  in  need  of  help  in 
their  dramatic  plans?  Further,  what  can  they  suggest 
to  the  larger  place?  Very  often  the  mouse  can  help 
the  lion. 

The  greater  the  number  of  people  who  are  set  to 
thinking  along  the  line  of  their  community's  resources 
the  more  widespread  will  be  the  interest  and  the  feeling 
of    responsibility. 

Individual  Dramatic  Groups 

A  very  important  factor  in  the  organization  of  com- 
munity drama  lies  in  the  individual  dramatic  group 
whose  work  can  be  greatly  strengthened  through  a  plan 
of  organization  which  will  help  to  relate  the  small 
dramatic  groups  which  should  be  brought  together  if 
the  full  community  values  in  community  drama  are  to 
be  brought  into  play.  It  is  important  that  these  groups 
shall  be  made  to  feel  that  a  plan  which  means  a 
closer  knitting  together  of  the  dramatic  interests  of  the 
community  will  not  involve  a  loss  of  independence  or  of 
entity,  but  will  make  it  possible  for  each  to  make  a 
greater  contribution  to  the  community. 

[  Eleven  ] 


The  unrelated  dramatic  groups  In  any  town  or  city 
usually  consist  of  club  groups,  including  dramatic  clubs, 
boys'  clubs,  women's  clubs,  church  groups  and  Indus- 
trial groups.  Each  group  will  have  to  be  considered 
as  a  separate  unit,  and  then  in  its  relation  to  the 
whole.  In  a  large  city,  however,  there  will  be  groups 
on  the  East  Side  and  groups  on  the  West  Side  who 
never  come  in  contact,  who  know  little  of  each  other's 
work.  A  remedy  for  this  can  be  found  In  Group 
Circuits. 

Group  Circuits 

One  of  the  finest  plans  ever  evolved  In  community 
drama  was  that  of  the  social  settlements  of  Boston,  which 
organized  a  settlement  dramatic  circuit.  Thus  a  one-act 
play  or  group  of  one-act  plays  or  a  long  play  would  be 
acted  throughout  the  whole  city,  the  players  going  from 
settlement  to  settlement  In  rotation.  It  Is  easy  to  see 
how  this  eliminated  all  duplication  of  effort  or  duplica- 
tion of  plays,  since  all  plans  were  made  In  advance. 
The  players  In  each  settlement  gained  Immeasurably 
from  the  contact  and  experience  that  such  a  circuit  gave 
them.  This  is  a  plan  that  can  be  adopted  by  the  dramatic 
clubs  of  any  town  or  city. 

A  further  suggestion  for  relating  dramatic  groups 
lies  In  the  lending  by  one  group  to  another  of  a  volunteer 
worker  who  is  particularly  skillful  and  talented  along 
some  special  line,  such  as  costume  planning  or  scenery 
making.  This,  too,  results  In  a  strengthening  of  the 
feeling  that  the  small  dramatic  groups  have  a  real  con- 
tribution to  make  to  community  life. 

Assembling  Groups  for  a  Festival 

Whenever  it  is  necessary  to  assemble  these  unrelated 
dramatic  groups  for  a  festival  the  plan  of  the  Boston 
settlements  may  be  referred  to.    As  each  settlement  had 

[  Twelve  ] 


its  own  well  trained  group,  they  were  all  organized  and 
ready  whenever  a  city  festival  was  on  foot.  Moreover, 
each  group  learned  something  from  its  work  with  the 
other  groups.  Most  of  these  groups  found  that  the 
one-act  play  was  the  best  for  circuit  purposes,  though 
on  special  occasions  such  as  Easter  and  Christmas, 
longer  plays  were  given.  Honorable  mention  was  made 
in  all  the  newspapers  of  the  best  work  done  throughout 
the  year.  If  possible  the  work  of  all  such  groups 
should  be  co-ordinated  with  the  work  of  the  Com- 
munity Theatre  or  Community  Dramatic  Center, 

Club  Groups 

Every  dramatic  club,  no  matter  how  small,  should 
be  made  to  feel  that  its  work  is  of  value,  that  it  has  a 
definite  part  in  the  general  dramatic  plan.  Whenever 
possible  a  circuit  should  be  arranged  for  dramatic  clubs 
whose  standards  warrant  it.  They  may  play  in  schools, 
settlements,  parish  houses,  and  before  other  dramatic 
clubs. 

Clubs  Composed  of  Women 

Many  clubs  composed  of  women  have  dramatic  com- 
mittees, some  of  which  do  excellent  work;  others  do 
work  which  needs  to  be  pulled  up  to  standard  as  regards 
choice  of  plays,  tempo,  lighting,  scenery  and  other  fea- 
tures. Many  women's  clubs  try  to  produce  plays  with 
casts  in  which  some  of  the  parts  should  really  be  played 
by  men.  This  makes  the  work  unconvincing.  There  are 
a  number  of  remarkably  good  one-act  plays  written  for 
casts  of  all  women  such  as  The  Widoiz/s  Veil  by  Alice 
Rossiter.  In  choosing  a  play  with  a  cast  of  men  and 
women  which  must  be  played  by  a  cast  composed  entirely 
of  women  it  is  best  to  choose  a  romantic  costume  play 
such  as  The  Turtle  Dove,  a  Chinese  fantasy,  by  Margaret 
Scott    Oliver.      Circuits    can    be    arranged    among    the 

[  Thirteen  ] 


women's  clubs.  A  list  of  suitable  plays  for  women's 
clubs  can  be  had  by  applying  to  Bureau  of  Educational 
Dramatics,  Community  Service,  1  Madison  Avenue, 
New  York  City. 

Industrial  Groups 

It  is  very  important  that  the  industrial  workers  of  a 
community,  so  many  of  whom  are  foreign  born,  shall 
have  the  opportunity  for  self-expression  and  participa- 
tion which  dramatics  offer.  There  is  a  great  need  for 
that  contact  through  community  drama  with  other  com- 
munity groups  which  makes  for  neighborliness  and 
sympathetic  understanding.  As  Joseph  Lee  has  said : 
"Unfortunately  most  work  under  our  industrial  civiliza- 
tion is  drudgery,  which  means  that  it  is  not  suited  to 
our  human  interests.  .  .  .  Our  community  singing, 
dances  and  dramatics  bring  back  something  of  the 
ancient  village  life.  Recreation  is  the  restorer  to  the 
modern  world  of  these  ingredients,  of  man's  spiritual 
ration  omitted  from  our  civilization,  without  which  he 
is  not  quite  alive." 

By  utilizing  what  already  exists  much  can  be  accom- 
plished. In  large  cities  many  industrial  groups  have 
dramatic  societies  which  are  continually  giving  plays 
acted  in  their  own  tongue.  New  York  has  many  such 
groups  of  players,  including  Yiddish,  Bohemian,  Polish 
and  Russian  groups.  Where  such  groups  are  discovered 
in  any  city  or  town  they  may  always  be  applied  to  when 
a  large  city  festival  is  being  planned.  They  will  add  to 
such  a  festival  much  beautiful  folk  art  in  the  way  of 
costumes,  songs  and  dances. 

Drama  within  the  Industry 

Every  effort  should  be  made,  as  has  been  pointed  out, 
to  bring  about  for  those  who  work  in  factories  the 
broadest  possible  participation  in  community  drama. 
Very   often,    however,    plays    and   other    forms   of   the 

[  Fourteen 


drama  are  important  phases  of  life  within  the  factory 
and  serve  a  variety  of  purposes.  Sometimes,  for  pur- 
poses of  instruction  in  advertising  or  selling  methods, 
ideas  are  given  dramatic  presentation.  Again,  a  play 
in  which  members  of  the  office  staff  and  other  employees 
come  together  may  be  used  to  increase  the  esprit  de 
corps  of  the  workers.  It  is  important,  too,  that  one 
working  group,  the  members  of  which  may  be  of  one 
nationality,  shall  present  in  dramatic  form  for  the  bene- 
fit of  their  fellow  workers  some  of  their  customs,  tradi- 
tions and  folk  lore.  The  folk  festival  into  which  folk 
songs  and  dances  are  interwoven  is  therefore  excellent 
both  for  use  within  the  factory  and  in  the  community, 
and  in  participation  with  other  groups  in  festivals  and 
pageants. 

The  suggestion  is  made  that  much  creative  ability, 
might  be  stimulated  by  the  offering  of  prizes  to  workers 
for  original  plays  or  pageants.  This  is  particularly  true 
of  the  factories  which  have  their  own  theatre  and  often 
their  resident  dramatic  director.  One  of  the  most 
notable  examples  of  the  theatre  within  the  industry  is 
that  of  the  Goodyear  Rubber  Company  at  Akron,  Ohio, 
where  plays,  operas  and  pantomimes  are  given  by  the 
employees. 

Dramatic  Material 

Pageants  in  which  the  audience  participates  as  chorus 
have  very  great  value  for  industry,  though  only  a  few 
attempts  have  been  made  in  this  field.  For  a  suggestive 
industrial  ceremonial  see  Appendix  A. 

For  factory  groups  which  have  already  had  practice 
in  dramatics  and  singing  The  Will  of  Song  by  Percy 
Mackaye  will  be  found  suggestive.  Among  the  plays 
with  large  group  effects  given  by  factory  workers  may 
be  mentioned  The  Forest  Ring  by  William  C.  DeMille, 
A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  by  Shakespare  and 
DeKoven's  Robin  Hood. 

[  Fifteen  ] 


Too  many  dramatic  workers  make  the  mistake  of 
thinking  that  a  cheaply  popular  type  of  play  is  all  that 
appeals  either  to  industrial  groups  or  to  an  audience  of 
their  friends.  A  group  of  factory  girls  in  a  New 
Jersey  city  presented  a  play  of  Chinese  costumes  and 
imagery,  The  Turtle  Dove,  by  Margaret  Scott  Oliver. 
The  director  used  the  educational  dramatic  method  and 
brought  out  all  the  cultural  points  in  the  play.  The 
girls  became  interested  in  Chinese  costumes,  customs 
and  manners.  The}^  delighted  in  the  color  and  in  plan- 
ning the  scenes.  Within  a  short  time  another  director 
took  up  work  with  this  group  and  presented  a  minstrel 
show  with  the  same  girls.  The  minstrel  show  went  ofif 
as  well  as  would  be  expected,  but  after  it  production 
interest  waned  and  the  dramatic  group  distintegrated. 
The  minstrel  show  had  no  permanent  interest,  no  power 
of  growth.  On  the  other  hand,  the  play  a  little  beyond 
their  powers  held  the  girls  and  gave  them  something 
to  work  for.  The  minstrel  show  that  took  little  effort 
failed  to  stir  more  than  a  passing  interest. 

In  groups  of  this  sort  it  is  best  to  begin  with  a  simple 
yet  interesting  play  and  go  steadily  forward  to  more 
advanced  plays.  Dramatic  workers  who  have  had  ex- 
perience in  this  work  declare  that  the  best  type  of  plays 
which  can  be  brought  to  industrial  workers  are  those 
which  have  in  them  a  breath  of  the  out-of-doors  and 
which  devolep  an  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  nature. 
A  fine  play  which  takes  a  group  of  industrial  workers 
imaginatively  into  the  heart  of  a  forest  is  giving  them 
pictures  to  which  they  can  return  after  the  day's  work. 
Rehearsals  for  industrial  workers  should  not  last  more 
than  an  hour  at  a  time.  Over-fatigue  should  'be 
avoided.  Any  pageant  given  in  connection  with  a  manu- 
facturing group  should  be  produced  in  the  nearest  park 
or  armory  or  hall,  but  not  in  the  factory  yard  if  it  is 
barren  and  ugly,  though  occasional  rehearsals  may  take 
place  in  the  yard. 

[  Sixteen  ] 


Church  Groups 

All  through  the  Middle  Ages,  the  church  was  the 
home  of  dramatic  experiment.  The  drama  as  we  know 
it  today  came  from  church  drama.  Miracle  and  morality 
plays  were  acted  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Europe.  The  fact  that  the  drama  is  now  being  in- 
creasingly used  in  the  churches  does  not  mean  something 
new.  It  simply  means  that  drama  has  gone  back  to  its 
original  home. 

Where  drama  is 'used  in  the  church  it  is  naturally 
religious  in  nature.  There  is  a  wealth  of  fine  material 
to  be  had.  Among  it  may  be  mentioned  the  old  morality 
play  of  Everyman;  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  by  Gayley, 
Why  the  Chimes  Ring  by  Elizabeth  MacFadden,  The 
Pilgrim  and  the  Book  by  Percy  Mackaye,  Eager  Heart 
by  A.  M.  Buckton  and  the  Dramatic  Services  for  Easter 
and  Christmas  arranged  by  Roseamond  Kimball,  all  of 
which  can  be  ordered  from  Samuel  French  and  Company, 
New  York  City.  Each  of  these  plays  has  had  church 
production. 

For  Sunday  school  use  there  are  several  books  of 
Bible  plays.  One  that  is  widely  used  is  Bible  Plays  for 
Children  by  May  Stein  Soble.  These  plays  are  arranged 
according  to  the  educational  dramatic  method  with  a 
preface  which  fully  explains  how  to  produce  them. 
Among  other  books  dealing  with  the  subject  is  Drama- 
tization of  Bible  Stories  by  Elizabeth  Erwin  Miller, 
University  of  Chicago  Press. 

There  are  many  groups  of  parish  players  in  parish 
houses  where  the  one-act  play  is  in  wide  use.  For  this, 
experience  has  proved  that  the  folk  play  and  the  poetic 
play  are  the  best,  such  plays  as  The  Land  of  Heart's 
Desire  by  William  Butler  Yeats  and  Spreading  the 
News  by  Lady  Gregory.  (See  Appendix  3  for  list  of 
drama  for  churches.) 

Seventeen  ] 


City-ivide  Organisation 

The  whole  problem  of  dramatic  engineering  is  so  new 
that  it  has  to  be  worked  out  step  by  step.  A  plan 
should  be  evolved  that  will,  on  certain  occasions,  unite 
all  the  dramatic  groups  of  the  city  or  town,  and  yet  be 
elastic  enough  to  leave  each  group  free  to  work  out  its 
own  problems. 

How  is  this  to  be  done? 

As  a  rule,  the  best  way  in  which  to  draw  all  the 
dramatic  forces  of  a  city  together  and  inter-relate  them, 
is  to  have  a  dramatic  festival,  pageant,  civic  masque,  or 
outdoor  play  in  which  large  numbers  of  supernumeraries 
are  used,  and  in  which  the  related  activities  give  scope  to 
hundreds  of  people  along  lines  of  designing,  dyeing, 
costuming,  organizing,  drilling,  singing  and  dancing  as 
well  as  along  executive  lines. 

Civic  pageants  or  festivals  must  not  be  given  too 
often  or  else  they  become  monotonous.  The  plan  of 
Peterborough,  New  Hampshire,  where  a  large  festival 
is  given  every  four  or  five  years  with  minor  festivals  or 
plays  in  between,  is  an  example  which  cities,  towns 
and  country  villages  may  well  follow.  The  outdoor 
play  which  has  large  group  effects  can  be  readily  sub- 
stituted for  the  pageant,  and  will  not  become  so 
monotonous. 

Civic  Celebrations 

Advantage  should  always  be  taken  of  such  national 
occasions  as  the  Pilgrim  Tercentenary  or  the  Shakespeare 
Tercentenary.  It  is  possible  to  work  out  a  plan  using 
the  birthday  of  some  local  or  state  celebrity  such  as 
was  done  in  Indiana  for  James  Whitcomb  Riley.  Such 
celebrations  should  be  made  to  permeate  the  life  of  the 
city  through  every  known  channel. 

[  Eighteen  \ 


CHAPTER  II 
ORGANIZING  FOR  COMMUNITY  DRAMA 

IT  may  sometimes  seem,  in  communities  where  re- 
sources are  limited  and  there  is  apparently  little 
leadership,  that  the  building  up  of  an  organization 
for  community  drama  is  an  impossible  task.  Experience 
has  shown,  however,  that  by  starting  in  a  very  small 
way,  by  meeting  the  immediate  need  and  by  working 
slowly,  the  ultimate  goal  will  eventually  be  reached.  A 
group  of  girls  in  one  small  community  started  a  dramatic 
work  which  grew  by  preparing  a  wardrobe  of  costumes, 
many  of  them  collected  from  the  attics  of  townspeople, 
which  was  sent  to  groups  throughout  the  county  wishing 
to  use  it.  In  another  community  a  dramatic  program 
was  initiated  by  a  group  of  girls  who  devised  some 
simple  scenery  which  could  be  shipped  to  various  parts 
of  the  district.  A  start  may  sometimes  be  made  by 
getting  the  local  library  to  place  on  its  shelves  books 
relating  to  the  drama.  The  discovery  of  the  people  in 
the  community  who  are  interested  in  the  drama  and 
who  have  some  knowledge  of  its  technique  represents 
still  another  way  of  making  a  start. 

Leadership  is  the  most  important  element  entering 
into  the  development  of  community  drama  and  very 
careful  consideration  must  therefore  be  given  the  build- 
ing up  of  a  working  organization  which  will  assume 
responsibility  for  the  working  out  of  the  program,  will 
see  that  the  value  of  all  work  is  conserved  and  that 
there  is  a  continuous  growth  and  a  constantly  widening 
plan  which  will  permeate  all  parts  of  the  community. 

The  building  up  of  the  working  organization  offers 
splended  possibilities  because  of  the  wide  range  of  inter- 


ests  which  may  be  represented.  Community  drama  calls 
upon  the  resources  of  many  kinds  of  people.  There  are 
the  people  interested  in  writing  the  plays  and  there  are 
those  who  want  to  produce  them.  There  are  others 
whose  abilities  lie  along  the  line  of  scenery  making,  of 
costuming  and  of  production.  Still  another  group  will 
be  found  who,  because  of  their  art  interests  and  their 
desire  for  the  progress  of  their  community  in  art  de- 
velopment, will  give  of  their  time  and  energy  to  foster  the 
movement.  Those  who  are  talented  in  music  have  their 
contribution  to  make.  There  are,  too,  the  people  whose 
executive  ability  makes  it  possible  for  them  to  under- 
take the  business  details  and  to  make  successful  a  com- 
munity venture  along  art  lines. 

These  people  may  be  called  together  to  discuss  the 
needs  and  resources  of  the  community  and  from  it  will 
develop  a  working  organization  which  with  its  various 
committees  will  call  into  play  the,  talents  and  abilities 
of  many  people. 

The  Permanent  Committee 

The  permanent  committee  which  will  evolve  from  the 
calling  together  of  the  people  of  a  community  most 
interested  in  the  drama  and  best  fitted  to  develop  a  work- 
ing plan  should  be  widely  representatice  of  community 
interests.  Literary  clubs,  musical  clubs,  the  churches, 
settlements,  schools  factories,  patriotic  societies,  the 
American  Legion  and  other  groups  will  all  have  their 
contribution  of  leadership  to  offer.  Very  often  in  initia- 
ting the  program  such  a  committee  or  group  will  have 
few  resources  and  facilities  with  which  to  work.  This, 
however,  ought  not  to  discourage  any  group  from  begin- 
ning activities,  starting  with  whatever  leadership  is 
available  and  developing  the  work  as  leadership  and 
resources  are  built  up. 

f  Tufttty  1 


The  Experience  of  One  City 

The  experience  of  a  Southern  city  is  typical  of  what 
may  be  done  when  interest  is  aroused  and  shows  how  a 
plan  of  organization  may  be  developed. 

Here  the  community  drama  organizer  of  Community 
Service  invited  to  an  informal  conference  six  people  of 
the  community  who  were  known  to  be  particularly  in- 
terested in  community  drama.  At  this  conference  there 
was  a  discussion  of  the  possibility  of  developing  a 
permanent  dramatic  organization  in  the  city,  and  plans 
and  programs  were  drawn  up.  Those  present  suggested, 
the  names  of  forty-five  others  interested  in  dramatic 
work  and  invitations  to  a  later  conference  were  sent 
the  people  suggested.  Twenty-five  responded  to  the  in- 
vitation and  at  the  second  conference  the  organization 
of  a  community  drama  club  was  launched.  A  chairman, 
vice-chairman,  secretary  and  treasurer  were  elected  at 
this  meeting  and  a  play  reading  section  was  organized 
in  connection  with   the  club. 

Following  this  conference  invitations  were  sent  to  200 
people  in  the  community  to  attend  the  one  act  play 
Suppressed  Desires  presented  by  members  of  the  club 
in  the  auditorium  of  the  Women's  Club.  One  hundred 
twenty-two  people  attended  the  performance,  given  ap- 
proximately two  weeks  after  the  initiation  of  the  move- 
ment, and  much  enthusiasm  was  expressed  over  the 
play  which  was  beautifully  staged  and  well  produced. 
After  the  production  the  plans  of  the  community  drama 
club  were  presented  to  the  audience  and  those  present 
became  members,  paying  one  dollar  membership   dues. 

Since  this  production  membership  has  grown  rapidly 
and  the  program  has  developed  steadily  under  the  gen- 
eral community  drama  committee  and  its  various  sub- 
committees. Each  month  a  one  act  play  of  little  theatre 
standards  is  presented,  the  admission  charge  both  to 
members  and  non-members  being  seventy-five  cents.     A 

Twenty-one  ] 


diflFerent  group  presents  play  each  time.  Once  every  two 
weeks  the  play  reading  section  holds  play  reading  evenings 
which  are  free  to  members.  At  these  evenings  there  are 
special  evenings  such  as  a  talk  on  barnstorming  in 
France,  a  discussion  of  a  professional  play  running  in 
New  York  which  one  of  the  members  attended,  and 
various  other  programs.  One  of  the  most  significant 
results  is  that  the  community  drama  club  has  discovered 
a  local  dramatist  and  produced  one  of  his  plays. 

Organisation  of  Community  Drama  in  a  Middle  Western 
City 

In  another  city  where  it  was  desired  to  lay  a  thorough 
foundation  for  community  Jrama  rather  than  to  produce 
plays  immediately,  twenty-eight  citizens  were  called  to- 
gether to  discuss  the  possibilities  for  dramatic  develop- 
ment in  their  community.  Those  present  selected  nine 
individuals  to  serve  on  a  committee  of  preliminary  or- 
ganization who,  in  turn,  chose  for  a  permanent  commit- 
tee of  dramatic  activities  eleven  people  representing  the 
interests  of  public  and  private  schools,  industrial  plants, 
business  clubs,  social  service  agencies  and  the  leading 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  churches. 

The  committee  on  preliminary  organization  further 
offered  the  names  of  people  who  might  be  asked  to  serve 
on  such  general  committees  as  the  Survey  Committee 
and  Educational  Committe.  For  the  various  sub-com- 
mittees under  the  Educational  Committee  other  names 
were  offered.  There  were  also  presented  the  names  of 
local  people  who  had  coached  plays  and  pageants  and 
had  had  experience  along  dramatic  lines. 

The  object  of  the  committee  on  dramatic  activities,  as 
outlined,  was  as  follows :  to  formulate  policies,  organize 
committee  and  serve  in  general  as  a  sort  of  council: 
to  draft  eventually  a  constitution  based  on  actual  working 
possibilities  and  activities  projected,  and  to  emphasize  at 

[  r-wenly-tu'v  ] 


all  times  the  need  and  value  ot  discovering  and  training 
the  best  local  talent  so  that  leaders  in  the  creative  and 
working  field  of  drama  might  become  an  asset  to  the 
community. 

The  Educational  Committee,  which  was  made  up  of 
specially  selected  members  and  the  chairmen  of  the  sub- 
committees, had  as  its  purpose  the  directing  of  the 
people  of  the  community  toward  a  higher  appreciation 
of  the  value  of  dramatic  art,  a  better  presentation  of 
it,  a  larger  participation  in  it  by  the  selection  and 
recommendation  of  plays  of  acknowledged  literary  merit ; 
by  dramatic  literary  programs ;  by  securing  competent 
directors  and  by  providing  publicity  tending  to  stimulate 
wider  interest  in  drama. 

A  number  of  sub-committees  were  appointed  under  the 
general  Educational  Committe.  These  sub-committees 
were  as  follows : 

1.  Community  Groups 

The  people  composing  this  sub-committee  repre- 
sented schools,  churches,  industry,  clubs  and  various 
dramatic  groups,  and  the  purpose  of  the  committee 
was  to  organize  dramatic  activities  among  the  mem- 
bers of  each  unit. 

2.  Special  Days 

The  purpose  of  this  committee  was  to  see  that 
dramatic  observance  is  given  local  and  national  holi- 

davs    anH    snprinl    r>rra<;ir»n5 


days  and   special  occasions. 


3.     Competition 

Through  this  committee  it  was  planned  to  offer 
prizes  to  stimulate  original  creative  activity  in  the 
designing  of  scenes,  costumes  and  posters,  and  in 
play  or  pageant  writing. 

[  Twenty-lhrcc  ] 


4.    Publicity 

The  function  of  this  committee  was  to  prepare 
and  publish  newspaper  articles  and  special  bulletins ; 
to  hold  meetings ;  secure  lectures ;  recommend  books 
and  magazines  for  the  library  and  to  do  everything 
possible  to  help  focus  the  dramatic  interests  of  the 
community. 

The  second  large  committee  organized  was  the  Survey 
Committee  whose  purpose  was  to  discover  available  re- 
sources, such  as  leaders,  participants  and  artists ;  physical 
equipment,  such  as  halls  and  stages  for  plays;  out-of- 
door  sites  for  pageants;  scenery;  costumes  and  similar 
facilities,  and  to  seek  out  the  organizations  and  neigh- 
borhood groups  which  are  interested  in  dramatics. 

This  plan,  it  will  readily  be  seen,  stresses  the  im- 
portance of  initial  attention  to  the  organization  of  a 
community  along  educational  lines  of  dramatic  art  rather 
than  to  production.  While  it  is  recognized  that  the 
ultimate  objective  is  participation  by  the  people  in  actual 
production,  it  may,  in  some  instances,  be  possible  to  wait 
until  means  have  been  evolved  for  the  development  of 
a  community-wide  program. 

The  Play  Producing  Group 

In  some  cases,  however,  it  is  not  advisable  to  delay 
the  putting  on  of  a  definite  program.  Consequently  it 
is  necessary  to  organize  very  soon  the  play  producing 
group  which  will  be  responsible,  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  permanent  dramatic  committee,  for  put- 
ting on  plays  or  other  forms  of  dramatic  activities. 
One  director  of  long  experience  has  suggested  that  the 
following  committees  be  created  for  the  actual  task  of 
play  producing  and  has  outlined  the  duties  of  each 
committee. 

[  Tu'cnly-four  ] 


Play  Reading  Committee 

Costume  Committee 

Scenery  and  Lighting  Committee 

Music  Committee 

Business  Committee 

The  Chairman  of  the  Play  Reading  Committee  may 
appoint  a  given  number  to  serve  with  her  for  one  pro- 
duction or  for  the  season.  It  would,  however,  stimulate 
interest  to  change  the  play  reading  members  with  each 
new  play.  Select  a  play  worth  the  time  and  trouble 
which  will  be  spent  in  producing  it.  Plays  should  be 
chosen  very  carefully  with  the  thought  of  the  talent  of 
the  actors  and  the  limitation  of  the  stage  facilities  ever 
in  mind.  The  approval  of  the  director  must  be  neces- 
sary for  the  final  decision. 

Members  of  the  Costume  Committee  should  be  a« 
familiar  as  the  actors  with  the  play.  No  small  detail 
should  be  overlooked.  People  having  a  natural  taste 
for  designing  and  dressmaking  should  be  chosen  for 
members  of  this  committee.  If  tjie  production  is  a  cos- 
tume play  the  history  of  the  period  should  be  studied. 
The  costumes  should  be  authentic  in  every  way.  Some 
members  of  the  committee  may  search  for  old  prints 
which  may  be  copied.  Correct  combination  of  colors  is 
most  important.  Harmony  of  colors  should  not  only  be 
studied  from  the  artistic  standpoint,  but  also  from  the 
view  of  the  player — in  other  words,  suit  the  costume  to 
the  player — the  player  to  the  costume.  At  least  one 
artist  should  be  a  member  of  this  committee.  It  is  quite 
popular  to  have  small  models  made  of  the  costumes  in 
the  workroom.  They  create  interest,  and  errors  may 
lie  corrected,  saving  time  and  money.  After  the  per- 
f<jrmance  the  costumes  should  be  cataloged,  together 
with  what  properties  are  to  be  kept,  and  carefully  stored. 
Thus  a  community  will  have  the  nucleus  for  a  perman- 
ent wardrobe. 

[  Tucnly-fivc  ] 


The  Scenery  and  Lighting  Committee  have  unlimited 
opportunity  for  work.  People  interested  in  architecture, 
painting,  carpentry,  electricity,  should  be  chosen  for  this 
committee.  A  stage  model  should  be  made.  If  a  play 
is  produced  in  a  given  period,  very  careful  study  should 
be  made  of  the  history  of  this  period  so  that  no  jarring 
note  may  creep  in.  The  chairman  of  this  committee 
appoints  an  experienced  electrician  to  take  charge  of  the 
lighting.  Groups  interested  in  lighting  may,  under  this 
experienced  guidance,  try  out  the  different  effects.  New 
books  which  will  be  of  great  help  are  constantly  being 
written  on  the  subject.  Among  them  are  suggested  the 
following : 

Shakespeare  for  Community  Players — Roy  Mitchell 
The  Art  Theater — Sheldon  Cheney 

Costumes  and  Scenery  for  Amateurs — Constance  D. 
Mackay 

(For  additional  works  see  Bibliography,  page  151) 

The  Music  Committee  will  be  responsible  for  both  the 
incidental  music  and  the  music  used  between  the  acts 
of  the  play.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  keep  the 
music  in  sympathy  with  the  play.  Often  this  is  quite 
overlooked.  It  is  not  unusual  to  find  people  who  will  be 
interested  in  writing  incidental  music.  One  play  which 
was  produced  several  times  in  New  York  City  called 
for  a  good  deal  of  incidental  music.  In  every  case  the 
school  producing  this  play  composed  its  own  music  in 
preference  to  using  that  which  had  been  used  by  an- 
other school. 

The  Business  Committee  should  be  responsible  for  the 
budget  and  the  chairman  of  all  other  committees  should 
report  to  the  chairman  of  this  Committee.  The  Business 
Committee    will    secure    the    hall,    take    charge    of    the 

[  T'lVcnly-six  1 


advertising  of  the  play,  and  will  make  it  their  duty  to 
see  that  the  actors  have  an  audience  worthy  of  their 
efforts. 

The  Dramatic  Director.  The  dramatic  director  is  a 
factor,  of  primary  importance  in  play  production.  If 
possible,  therefore,  the  services  of  an  experienced  director 
should  be  secured.  A  well-known  leader  in  the  field  of 
community  drama  has  said  that  even  in  instances  where 
very  limited  funds  are  available  the  expenditure  of  this 
money  for  a  ^ood  director  will  be  the  best  possible 
investment.  Naturally,  the  volunteers  who  work  with 
such  a  leader  themselves  receive  invaluable  training-  and 
can  in  turn  pass  on  the  torch. 

It  is  important  that  a  director  shall  be  chosen  in 
whom  the  committee  will  have  confidence  and  to  whom 
they  can  give  absolute  power.  The  director  must  be  the 
ruler  of  a  performance  if  it  is  to  be  a  success.  He 
should  not  act  in  the  performance.  Suggestions  should 
be  discussed  with  him  at  other  than  rehearsal  hours. 
The  director  should  be  a  person  of  great  tact  and  crea- 
tive ability.  The  element  of  community  leadership  as 
well  as  the  requisite  dramatic  equipment  is  essential.  He 
should  be  able  not  alone  to  direct  the  play  production 
but  also  to  stimulate  the  creative  co-operation  of  those 
in  charge  of  scenery,  costumes  and  music,  for  by  calling 
into  play  creative  faculties  which  are  perhaps  dormant 
real  community  dramatic  development  is  made  possible. 
The  director  will  arrange  the  hours  for  rehearsal  and 
post  them  as  soon  as  possible.  He  will  supply  the 
music  director  with  music  cues  and  the  electrician  with 
the  light  plot.    The  director  will  be  given  two  assistants : 

The  Prompter — who  sometimes  acts  in  the  capacity  of 
assistant  director.  It  is  his  duty  to  be  present  at 
every  rehearsal  and  be  as  familiar  with  the  play  as 
the  actors.     It  is  an  excellent  idea  for  the  prompter 

[  Twenty-seven  ] 


to  make  a  prompt  copy  with  all  business  written  on 
the  margin.  This  often  saves  a  great  deal  of  time 
and  discussion. 

Property  Man — who.se  duty  it  is  to  provide  for  every 
article  needed  by  the  actors  in  the  play.  If  the 
play  warrants  it,  a  property  committee  may  be 
formed. 


[  Twenty-eight  ] 


CHAPTEK   111 
THK   DRAMA   INSTITUTE 

Community  drama  will  become  a  vital  force,  as  has 
been  suggested,  only  as  there  is  built  up  a  strong  leader- 
ship which  must  be  supplied  to  a  great  degree  through 
volunteers  who  have  natural  gifts  along  dramatic  lines 
but  who  need  training  if  their  contribution  is  to  count. 

Institutes  for  the  training  of  workers  have  therefore 
come  to  be  an  important  phase  of  the  community  drama 
program.  These  institutes  may  last  one  week  or  several 
weeks.  The  more  time  devoted  to  them,  the  better  the 
results.  To  be  thoroughly  successful  the  institute  should 
be  soundly  organized  in  advance  and  should  receive 
dignified,  interesting  publicity. 
.  In  some  instances  institutes  for  the  training  of  volun- 
teers may,  if  it  is  necessary  to  arouse  general  interest 
in  the  movement,  be  preceded  by  an  institute  of  two  or 
three  days'  time  to  demonstrate  community  values  in- 
volved in  a  community-wide  dramatic  program.  Such 
an  institute  may  consist  of  talks  on  community  drama 
and  its  values  and  general  lectures  on  play  production! 
In  connection  with  the  institute  there  may  be  shown 
models  of  stages  and  exhibits  of  posters  and  pictures, 
illustrating  the  new  art.  Generally  the  speakers  are 
specialists  brought  from  out  of  town. 

The  chief  emphasis,  however,  is  upon  institutes  which 
will  give  very  definite  and  practical  instruction  on  play 
production,  stage  technique,  lighting,  scenery  and  all 
the  various  phases  of  a  community  drama  program. 

Arranging  for  Institutes 

As  has  been  suggested,  much  depends  upon  the  prepara- 
tions which  are  made  for  the  institute  and  the  way  in 

[  Twenty-nine  ] 


which  the  value  of  such  training  is  presented  to  the 
community.  In  preparing  for  an  institute  for  the  train- 
ing of  volunteers  the  following  suggestions  have  been 
found  helpful  in  a  number  of  communities. 

1.  List  names,  addresses,  telephone  numbers  of  local 
group  representing  clubs,  churches,  schools  and  neighbor- 
hoods, who  will  compose  the  institute  committee.  It  is 
well  to  stress  the  need  of  the  lay  person  interested  in 
the  development  of  community  drama  rather  than  the 
professional  type. 

2.  Secure  the  telephone  numbers  and  addresses  of 
experienced  people  who  would  be  available  to  help  on  the 
institute  program — such  as  a  costume  or  scenic  artist 
writers  of  plays  from  the  University,  dyeing  specialists 
and  others.     Some  of  these  may  be  enlisted  as  faculty. 

3.  Make  sure  of  good  publicity  through  newspapers, 
clubs,   schools,  churches  and  other  community  groups. 

■  4.  See  personally  as  many  individuals  as  possible,  in- 
cluding the  paid  workers  and  officials  of  community 
groups.  It  may  be  well  to  follow  such  conferences  with 
letters,  giving  definite  information  regarding  the  institute. 

5.  Arrange  for  a  place  where  the  institute  can  be 
held — any  room  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  class 
and  to  allow  for  play  producing.  Sometimes  library 
rooms  may  be  secured  for  the  purpose.  Provide  two 
screens,  a  small  stand  and  similar  equipment  to  be  used 
in  the  demonstration  of  plays.  It  is  well  to  have  a  room 
attractive    to   the   eye. 

6.  Have  ready  information  regarding  local  conditions 
— such  as  a  brief  resume  of  drama  and  pageantry  work 
recently  developed  in  the  community  or  particularly 
telling   facts    about  needs.     Have    on   hand   names   and 

[  Thirty  ] 


producers    of    one-act   plays    which    have    recently   been 
successfully  given. 

7.  Secure  the  co-operation  of  library  and  stores  for 
display  of  all  drama  material  and  posters.  Local 
dramatic  groups  may  be  willing  to  lend  good  pictures  or 
programs  of  their  recent  productions.  This  would  help 
in  arousing  local  interest. 

8.  If  the  organizer  comes  from  outside  the  community 
arrange  for  desk  space  in  the  office  of  Community 
Service  or  other  group  promoting  the  institute. 

A  Special  Holiday  Institute.  The  preparation  for  a 
special  holiday  is  urged  as  an  excellent  way  of  arranging 
a  drama  institute.  This  plan  was  recently  carried  out 
in  New  York  City  by  a  Community  Service  dramatic 
organizer  who  very  successfully  established  a  workshop 
of  directors.  Realizing  the  opportunity  offered  by  the 
Christmas  season,  the  organizer  began  early  in  November 
to  make  definite  plans  for  training  by  selecting  the  one- 
act  play  Why  the  Chimes  Rang  by  Elizabeth  McFadden, 
as  offering  unusual  possibilities  for  demonstration  pur- 
poses. Through  the  co-operation  of  a  local  group  a 
meeting  room  with  a  stage  was  provided.  Announce- 
ment was  made  that  a  four  day  institute  would  be 
conducted  for  directors  interested  in  producing  Why  the 
Chimes  Rang  during  the  Christmas  season.  Fifteen 
people  were  enrolled.  As  a  result  of  the  institute  seven 
performances  of  the  play  directed  by  various  members 
of  the  institute  were  given  in  New  York  City. 

Programs 

Under  the  auspices  of  Community  Service  a  number 
of  cities  have  held  institutes  for  the  training  of  volunteers 
whicn  have  been  of  a  varying  length.  Some  of  the 
programs  which  were  carried  through  will  be  of  interest 
to  communities  planning  for  the  training  of  volunteers. 

I  Tkirty-one  ] 


A  Drama  Institute  of  One  Jl'cek.  Tacoma,  Wash- 
ington, held  an  institute  which  consisted  of  six  regular 
meetings  conducted  by  the  Drama  Department  of  Com- 
munity Service, '  and  four  demonstra-tion  performances 
of  standard  plays  by  the  Drama  League  Players.  Be- 
side this  there  was  an  exhibit  of  plays,  pictures,  pro- 
grams, costumes,  books  on  the  theatre,  magazine  articles 
on    pageants,    play   lists,    catalogues    and    model    stages. 

Topics  Discussed 

Choosing  a  Play  Stage   Technique 

Producing  a  Play  The  One  Act  Play 

Vocal   Technique  Notes  on  Foreign  Theatres 

Diction  •  Bibliography  for  Adults 

Gesture  Bibliography   for  Children 

Topics  Discussed   With  Demonstration 

Stagecraft  Effect      of      Lighting      on 

T  •  1  .•  Make-Up 

Properties  Publicity  for  the  Amateur 

The  New  Lighting  ^  Pla^^^  ^^^^^^^^  ^  ^^^_ 

Lightmg  Equipment  gl  Stage 

The  47  Workshop,  a  Laboratory  of  American  Drama 

A  Five  Weeks'  Drama  Institute.  A  drama  leader- 
ship training  school,  five  weeks  in  duration,  was  con- 
ducted by  the  Drama  Department  of  Community  Ser- 
vice of  Boston  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  re- 
sources of  the  community  in  volunteer  dramatic' 
leadership,  and  to  raise  the  standard  of  community 
drama.  This  training  school  was  an  example  of  what 
can  be  done  in  drawing  on  the  art  forces  of  a  city. 
All  the  instruction  was  given  by  local  people,  and  by 
arousing  local  interest  it  was  possible  to  secure  the 
services    of    such    lecturers    and    experts    as    Professor 

[  Thirty-two  ] 


George  P.  Baker  of  Harvard,  Joseph  Liiidon  Smith  and 
Henry  Hunt  Clark  of  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 
Oliver  Larkin,  Assistant  in  the  Fine  Arts  Department 
of  Harvard  University.  Dr.  Richard  C  Cabot  and  others. 

The  course  was  conducted  according  to  the  practical 
Workshop  Method.  Tt  was  open  to  men  and  women 
engaged  in  some  form  of  dramatic  work  who  desired  to 
further  their  technical  knowledge,  and  also  to  those 
who  were  seriously  contemplating  dramatic  direction. 
The  fee  for  the  five  weeks  was  ten  dollars. 

The  enrollment  was  limited  to  fifty  pupils.  Certain 
general  lectures  were  given  all  the  students  but  small 
groups  were  made  up  on  the  basis  of  special  interests. 
This  made  it  possible  for  intensive  training  to  be  given 
those  wishing  instruction  on  lighting,  costumes  and 
properties,   and   other  phases. 

The  first  week  was  known  as  Planning  Week;  the 
second,  Scenery  Week;  the  third,  Costume  Week;  the 
fourth,  Lighting  Week  and  the  fifth,  Production  Week. 
The  program  was  as  follows : 

Stagecraft 

Planning  Week: 
Monday,   February  28th     Outline   of  Course 
Wednesday,  March  2nd      Reference  material.     Staging 

the  Play 
Thursday,  March  3rd  Color  Schemes 

Scenery  Week: 
Monday,  March  7th  Lecture  on  Scenery 

Wednesday,  March  9th      Demonstration  of  Scene 

Painting 
Thursday,  March  10th        Demonstration  work 

Costume  Week: 
Monday,  March  14th  Lecture,  Costume  and 

Properties 

[  Thirty-three  ] 


Wednesday,  March  16th      Demonstration  of  Costume 

Making 
Thursday,  March  17th         Demonstration  work 

Light iiui   Week: 

Monday,  March  21st  Lecture:     Lighting 

Wednesday,  March  23rd     Demonstration  of  Lighting 
Thursday,  March  24th        Demonstration  work 

Production  Week: 

Wednesday,  March  30th 

Lecture:  Make-Up  (Monday  March  28th) 

Dress  rehearsal  demonstration  play 

Coaching  Demonstration 

Outline  of  the  Course 

Presentation  of  life  studies,  by  students 

Reading  of  the  play.     Casting  of  groups 

Play  rehearsals  by  groups 

Coaching  demonstration 

Play  rehearsals.     Section  of  final  cast 

Dress  rehearsal 

In  addition  there  were  such  special  lectures  as  Drama 
and  Life;  Producing  a  Play;  Pageantry;  Community 
Value  of  Dramatics. 

County  Institutes 

Under  the  auspices  of  Community  Service  three-day 
institutes  were  conducted  in  six  small  communities  in 
Warren  County,  Ohio,  with  population  ranging  from 
600  to  2,200  people.  At  these  institutes  instruction  was 
given  in  community  music  and  recreation  as  well  as 
in  the  drama. 

During  the  first  day's  session  the  time  was  devoted  to 
a  presentation  of  community  drama,  an  interpretation  of 

[  Thirty-four  ] 


its  values  and  of  its  meaning  in  terms  of  community 
life,  a  discussion  of  the  background  of  the  movement 
and  other  topics  allied  to  the  movement  as  a  whole. 
There  was,  too,  a  discussion  of  pageantry  and  its  value 
for  civic  celebrations  and  for  the  stimulation  of  local 
pride.  Out  of  this  has  developed  a  plan  for  a  county 
pageant  in  which  each  of  the  six  communities  will  be 
responsible  for  an  episode. 

The  second  day  was  taken  up  with  organization  and 
a  discussion  of  the  dramatic  problems  of  the  town, 
which  in  small  communities  invariably  centered  around 
the  moving  picture.  The  dramatic  organizer  suggested 
suitable  films  which  might  be  secured  and  sources  of 
supply.  The  points  discussed  the  previous  day  were 
brought  out  and  local  application  made.  This  question 
and  answer  period  with  the  discussion  it  never  failed 
to  invoke  was  felt  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  phases 
of  the  institute. 

During  this  day  the  mothers  and  older  women  were 
organized  into  play  reading  clubs  which  are  virtually 
drama  appreciation  clubs.  High  school  dramatic  clubs 
were  organized  for  the  production  of  high  standard  plays. 
Since  these  clubs  were  always  organized  with  open 
membership,  it  has  been  possible  to  draw  into  them 
young  men  and  women  and  the  other  members  of  the 
community. 

In  some  communities  another  permanent  group  left 
was  the  Storytelling  League,  while  in  one  or  two  towns 
camera  clubs  were  organized  as  the  result  of  the 
emphasis  laid  on  the  development  of  an  appreciation 
of  the  natural  beauty  in  the  commtunity. 

The  community  drama  section  of  the  third  day's  pro- 
gram was  devoted  by  the  community  drama  organizer 
to  pulling  the  groups  together,  driving  home  needs 
and  possibilities  and  giving  those  present  practical  sug- 
gestions regarding  programs  and  play  production, 

f  Thirly-jlve  ) 


Other  examples  of  institutes  might  be  quoted.  The 
Drama  League  of  America  gave  a  summer  institute 
covering  a  period  of  twelve  days  for  English  and  drama 
teachers  and  for  the  training  of  community  and  recrea- 
tional workers.  Information  may  be  secured  by  writing 
633  Fine  Arts   Building,   Chicago,   Illinois. 


Thirty-six  ] 


CHAPTER   IV 

FORMS  OF   DRAMA  AND   THE  COMMUNITY 
DRAMA    PROGRAM 

Even  the  most  thoroughly  trained  dramatic  workers 
will  not  be  successful  in  community  drama  unless  they 
keep  in  mind  certain  fundamental  principles  and  adapt 
their  programs  to  the  needs  of  the  community.  No 
ultimate  law  can  be  laid  down  for  attacking  any  given 
situation.  There  are  a  hundred  things  which  need  doing ; 
the  test  of  the  dramatic  worker  is  in  the  choosing  of 
what  should  be  done  and  the  finish  and  skill  with  which 
it  is  done. 

There  must  be  a  wise  choice  of  the  forms  of  drama 
to  be  used  and  an  adaptation  of  these  forms  to  the  needs 
of  community  groups,  which  will  result  in  a  well  rounded 
program  and  in  the  development  of  standards  in  dram- 
atic work. 

In  addressing  a  group  of  dramatic  workers  Sam  Hume 
said,  "We  need  to  develop  standards  and  taste  in  this 
country.  You  must  develop  such  standards  in  your 
citizens,  and  your  singing,  drama  and  community  art 
may  come  of  themselves.  It  is  for  you  as  community 
workers  to  bring  in  some  standards,  some  taste ;  to  get 
the  people  in  such  a  way  as  to  have  a  widespread 
participation.  But  this  means  that  each  one  of  you 
should  be  a  thoroughly  developed  individual  with  a 
vision  and  an  imagination.  It  means  a  definite  program 
and  thorough  co-operation  and  you  have  got  to  deal 
with  individuals,  with  city  counselors  and  politicians 
who  think  only  in  terms  of  things  they  have  known. 

"There  is  something  more  fundamental  about  this 
whole  work  you  are  doing  than  one  is  apt  to  recognize. 
The  pageant  or  any  allied    form   of   art  goes   down   to 

[  Thirty-seven  ] 


fundamental  principles.  It  depends  largely  upon  your 
personality  or  outlook,  your  contact  and  your  sympathy 
with  all  these  various  things.  You  must  be  a  leader, 
a  civic  entertainer  along  these  lines  You  must  have 
that  personality  and  that  contact  with  reality  and  with 
American  life  as  we  know  it,  in  order  that  you  may  get 
your  opportunity  and  mix  with  the  people  in  your 
community. 

"If  it  is  simply  to  give  a  man  an  opportunity  to  do 
stunts  and  to  give  him  a  place  in  the  public  eye,  it  is  not 
worth  while.  There  should  be  something  which  is  con- 
secutive and  accumulative  in  every  community.  A 
pageant  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  draw  public  atten- 
tion to  a  stone  monument,  and  that  is  being  done;  but 
if  it  exists  for  that  purpose  alone,  it  is  not  accomplishing 
much.  There  should  be  a  plan  of  follow-up.  This 
means  that  the  plans  and  the  particular  individuals  must 
be  on  the  ground  at  the  right  time.  All  these  things 
depend  upon  competent  development  and  leadership. 
That  is  essential  and  you  must  have  it.  We  have  to 
have  interest  in  the  sense  of  doing  something  worth 
while  for  its  own  sake  and  for  the  effect  it  has  upon 
the  individual." 

.Forms  of  Dr.\ma 

Because  of  the  importance,  which  Mr.  Hume  has 
pointed  out,  of  choosing  the  form  of  drama  which  will 
secure  the  participation  of  many  groups  and  will  be  best 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  various  groups,  a  word  may 
be  said  for  the  benefit  of  the  more  or  less  experienced 
worker  regarding  the  different  forms  of  drama  which 
can  be  used. 

Tableaux 

The  very  simplest  tform  of  community  dramatics  for 
adults  is  the  static  form  of  the  tableau.  Tableaux 
should,  however,  be  used  sparingly,  and  should  be  very 

[  Tliirty-cighi] 


well  done.  Any  set  of  tableaux  should  be  grouped 
around  a  main  idea;  otherwise  they  will  give  a  patchy 
and  sporadic  effect.  Such  a  master  of  the  art  of  posing 
tableaux  as  the  late  John  Alexander  always  had  a 
definite  theme  for  a  tableau  evening.  That  is,  there 
might  be  an  evening  of  tableaux  of  famous  queens,  or 
of  pictures  posed  to  illustrate  old  songs,  or  of  a  series 
of  portraits  by  artists  such  as  Gainsborough.  With  these 
tableaux  appropriate  music  is  always  used.  This  repre- 
sents the  tableau  in  its  most  sophisticated  sense.  But 
other  and  simpler  tableaux  can  be  given,  accompanied 
by  music.  Suggestions  for  such  tableaux  are  offered 
in  material  on  Washington's  Birthday  which  may  be 
secured  from  Community  Service. 

Pantomime 

Pantomime  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  simplest  of 
dramatic  forms,  yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to 
teach  people  who  have  had  little  or  no  dramatic  ex- 
perience. During  the  past  few  years  there  has  been 
a  steady  growth  of  the  ancient  art,  not  only  because 
of  its  artistic  value  but  for  the  training  it  affords  the 
actor.  As  it  has  to  be  gotten  over  entirely  by  posture, 
gesture  and  expression,  not  only  of  the  face  but  of  the 
entire  body,  it  imposes  the  most  careful  preparation  and 
must  be  presented  with  absolute  precision  and  perfection. 
The  action  must  co-ordinate  with  the  idea  and  no  move- 
ment can  be  made  that  does  not  convey  a  pertinent 
meaning.  There  is  induced  on  the  part  of  the  actor  the 
habit  of  restraint,  control  and  careful  analysis  of  a 
part  with  all  its  inner  motives  and  aims.  The  pantomime 
also  develops  the  imagination,  does  away  with  self-con- 
sciousness and  teaches  the  artist  the  knack  of  getting 
over  the  particular  points  he   wants   to  make. 

Pnntomime  should  always  be  accompanied  by  music 
and  where  the  players  are  new  to  the  art,  only  the 
simplest  pantomime  should  be  chosen.     For  a  beginning 

I  Thirty-nine 


group  a  simple  pantomime  would  be  Aesop's  Fable  of 
The  Sun,  Wind  and  the  Rain.  For  more  advanced 
players  more  involved  pantomimes  are  practicable. 

Only  two  sorts  of  settings  are  possible  for  the  pan- 
tomime. It  may  be  played  against  a  neutral  setting  or 
a  flat  poster  setting.  In  so  far  as  possible  all  furniture 
and  properties  are  eliminated  in  a  pantomime.  Only  the 
properties  actually  needed  for  the  action  of  the  piece 
are  placed  on  the  stage. 

It  is  important  that  the  pantomime  be  followed  up 
with  other  forms  of  dramatic  art  and  be  used  only  as 
one  phase  of  a  many-sided  program. 

Dance  Poems 

Dance  poems  which  combine  both  dance  and  recitation 
are  allied  to  pantomime  but  they  are  used  only  in 
technically  advanced  community  theatres.  They  are  one 
of  the  latest  experiments  of  small  theatres  and  should 
not  be  attempted  unless  they  can  be  done  perfectly. 
For  these,  poems  of  Vachel  Lindsay,  Lizette  Woodworth 
Keese,  Lawrence  Hope,  Omar,  and  Shelley  are  used. 

The  One- Act  Play 

The  one-act  play  is  the  play  most  in  use  in  community 
theatres.  It  is  the  short  story  of  the  drama.  A  pro- 
gram of  three  or  four  one-act  plays  makes  up  an 
evening's  entertainment.  These  plays  should  be  chosen 
with  great  care.  A  comedy  should  always  balance  a 
more  serious  play.  Where  a  longer  play  proves  too 
short,  a  one-act  play  may  be  used  as  a  curtain  raiser. 
With  all  clubs,  dramatic  societies,  and  school  groups, 
the  one-act  play  is  gaining  in   favor. 

Where  four  one-act  plays  are  given  in  an  evening, 
they  may  be  produced  by  one  director,  or  each  play  may 
have  its  own  director.  They  may  be  acted  by  one 
group  of  people,  or  four  different  groups  may  par- 
ticipate.    It  is  this  flexibility  which  makes  the   one-act 

[  Forty  ] 


play  at   once   so   interesting  and   so   useful.      (See    Ap- 
pendix C  for  list  of  one-act  plays.) 
The  Long  Play 

The  long  play  should  be  attempted  by  amateurs  only 
after  they  have  had  considerable  practice,  and  then  it 
is  wiser  not  to  choose  too  long  a  play.  The  effect  left 
on  the  mind  of  the  audience  should  be  one  of  vitality 
and  crispness.     (See  Appendix  D  for  Hst  of  long  plays.) 

The  Masque 

The  Masque  is  a  dramatic  form  in  which  few  or  many 
people  can  be  used  according  to  its  type.  It  tells  a  definite 
story,  as  does  a  play,  but  its  characters  are  either  sym- 
bolic or  mythologic.  It  is  usually  written  in  verse,  or 
in  poetic  .prose.  It  is  a  form  which  has  been  handed 
down  from  the  time  of  the  Elizabethans  to  the  present. 
All  masques  contain  dances,  and  usually  incidental  music 
as  well. 

The  Festival 

The  festival  is  a  form  of  drama  less  chronological 
than  the  pageant  and  less  dramatic  than  the  masque. 
It  usually  has  a  simple  theme  into  which  dances  and 
choruses  are  introduced.  It  is  one  of  the  most  primitive 
forms  of  drama. 

The  Pageant 

Pageants,  whether  on  a  large  or  small  scale,  should 
be  used  sparingly  in  any  community,  for  the  tendency 
nowadays  is  to  make  them  monotonous  by  having  too 
many  of  them. 

The  pageant  is  the  one  form  which  uses  large  masses 
of  people  to  advantage.  Its  sequences  of  episodes  are 
usually  historical.  It  is  the  one  form  of  drama  in 
which  totally  inexperienced  players  can  take  part  with 
good  effect.     (See  Chapter  VIII  for  further  discussion.) 

[  Forty-one  ] 


Suggestions  for  a  Program 

If  the  Committee  on  Community  Drama,  or  whatever 
group  is  responsible  for  the  development  of  the  w^ork. 
is  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  small  groups  and  bring 
them  together  in  a  city-wide  plan  of  organization  it 
should  work  with  a  definite  plan  in  view  which  involves 
the  mapping  out  of  a  flexible  program.  This  program 
may  be  for  a  year's  work  or  for  five  years'  work  planned 
in  advance.  It  should  be  a  program  which  will  make 
for  continuity  and  for  the  building  up  of  a  real  art  life. 

A  suggestion  for  such  a  program  is  contained  in 
Patriotic  Drama  in  Your  Town  by  Constance  D'Arcy 
Mackay.*  This  program  cannot  be  outlined  here  in  its 
entirety  but  a  resume  of  its  suggestions  is  given  through 
the  courtesy  of  Henry  Holt  and  Company. 

{First    Year) 

For  the  first  year  have  an  Americanization  program 
with  an  outdoor  masque  or  festival  showing  the  relation 
of  foreign-born  citizens.  This  can  be  produced  on  the 
Fourth  of  July  or  on  Labor  Day.  In  this  first  year 
particular  stress  should  be  laid  on  the  Christmas  com- 
munity celebration  around  the  Tree  of  Light.  Have 
the  singing  led  by  the  figure  of  Liberty,  and  have  songs 
that  are  distinctly  American  in  character  such  as  Amer- 
ica the  Beautiful  by  Katherine  Lee  Bates;  Arthur  Far- 
well's  Hymn,  to  Liberty,  and  others. 

{Second  Year) 

This  year  may  be  a  year  of  American  myths,  dram- 
atically developed.  Such  a  theme  as  Hiawatha  or  Rip 
Van  Winkle  may  be  used.  The  development  of  Indian 
myths  lends  itself  particularly  well  to  a  city  or  town 
program,  because  it   can  be  allied   with   music,  games, 


•  Published  by  Henry  Holt  and  Company,  19  West  44th  Street, 
New  York  City,  at  $1.35. 

[  Forty-lwo  ] 


storytelling  and  similar  activities.  In  connection  with 
the  main  play  there  may  be  small  spring  festivals  in 
parks  and  playgrounds  woven  around  Indian  myths,  the 
coming  of  spring,  the  story  of  the  moccasin  flower,  and 
others.  On  no  account  must  the  main  theme  be  used  in 
any  minor  festival,  or  it  will  become  stale.  The  pro- 
duction of  an  Indian  play  on  a  large  scale  will  naturally 
lead  to  the  establishment  of  an  outdoor  theatre  for  this 
particular  city  or  town..  For  the  community  Christmas 
celebration  there  should  be  included  Christmas  carols  of 
Old  England,  next  a  few  native  Indian  songs,  then 
hymns  by   American  authors. 

(Third   Year) 

This  should  be  a  colonization  year  dealing  with  the 
people  who  helped  to  colonize  America — a  year  of  the 
pioneer  spirit.  For  this  there  should  be  a  simple  out- 
door play,  with  large  group  effects,  given  as  the  main 
celebration.  In  connection  with  this  play  there  should 
be  other  plays  of  pioneer  life  in  the  high  schools  and 
grade  schools,  and  a  special  performance  of  such  plays 
in  the  Community  Theatre. 

For  the  Christmas  celebration  around  the  Tree  of 
Light  there  should  be  the  Christmas  carols  of  the  dif- 
ferent nations  which  sent  colonizers  to  America — Eng- 
lish, French,  Russian,  Italian  and  Scandinavian.  Each 
group  should  be  in  its  national  dress. 

(Fourth  Year) 

This  year  should  be  an  American  author  year.  By 
this  time  a  Community  Theatre  will  be  well  under  way, 
and  it  might  devote  its  program  to  plays  by  American 
authors.  Plays  given  in  the  high  schools  and  colleges 
may  also  be  by  American  authors;  this  is  true  of  the 
plays  given  in  the  grade  schools. 

The  main   feature  of  the  year  may  be  a  Fourth  of 

Forty-three 


July  celebration  of  foreign-born  and  American  children. 
Full  suggestions  for  the  working  out  of  a  Mother  Goose 
pageant  along  these  lines  is  given  in  the  book  from 
which  this  is  quoted,  Mother  Goose  being  an  American 
author. 

For  the  Tree  of  Light  have  a  children's  festival  with 
Santa  Glaus  presiding.  Use  music  by  American  com- 
posers and  songs  by  American  authors  wherever  possible. 

(Fifth    Year) 

This  will  be  a  year  of  local  history  with  a  pageant  of 
local  history  on  Fourth  of  July  or  Labor  Day,  with  all 
the  city  schools  and  city  organizations  working  for 
the  pageant.  Local  and  state  history  will  be  studied  in 
all  the  schools.  It  is  further  suggested  that  on  this 
year  or  one  of  the  preceding  years  a  float  parade  be 
given  on  Labor  Day  showing  the  development  of  Labor 
in  this  country,  both  in  the  home  and  out  of  it.  Such 
a  parade  might  be  called  Pageant  of  the  Lineage  of 
Labor. 

The  successful  building  of  such  a  program  as  has  been 
suggested  will  not  only  make  for  an  increased  apprecia- 
tion of  local  and  national  traditions  but  will  develop  a 
local  pride  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  community 
along  dramatic  lines.  Above  all  it  will  insure  a  devel- 
opment which  will  make  possible  a  degree  of  self  ex- 
pression for  the  individual  that  can  be  brought  about 
through  no  other  channel ;  it  will,  too,  go  far  toward 
the  fostering  of  an  art  life  for  the  community  that  will 
enhance  and  deepen  all  cultural  values. 


[  Forty-four 


CHAPTER  V 

PLAY  PRODUCTION 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  give  definite  suggestions 
regarding  methods  of  play  production.  Each  director 
through  experience  develops  his  own  methods,  adapting 
them  to  the  character  of  the  group  with  which  he  is 
working.  The  dramatic  director  who  is  just  beginning 
and  who  is  eager  to  work  out  problems  in  community 
drama  cannot  be  too  strongly  advised  that  to  take  up 
one  thing  at  a  time  and  work  it  out  to  its  natural  con- 
clusion is  far  better  than  to  take  up  several  things  and 
half  do  them.  In  order  that  dramatic  work  in  any  com- 
munity may  grow  and  prosper,  it  is  necessary  to  com- 
mence with  the  very  foundation.  Constant  experimenta- 
tion has  proved  that  it  is  better  to  do  a  few  simple  plays 
expertly  than  to  turn  out  a  great  many  half-baked  pro- 
ductions. For  inexperienced  groups  it  is  better  to  begin 
with  simple  plays  and  work  toward  others  of  greater 
technical  difficulty. 

Some  of  the   Principles  of   Play   Production 

Miss  Katherine  Searle,  playwright  and  producer,  in 
speaking  before  the  Drama  Institute  conducte'd  by 
Boston  Community  Service,  pointed  out  the  following 
principles  of  play  producing  which  she  states  are  im- 
portant not  because  they  are  founded  on  tradition,  but 
because  they  are   founded  on  common  sense. 

N^aturalness 

The  first  of  these  principles,  Miss  Searle  states,  is 
naturalness.  All  acting  should  be  based  on  observation 
of  life  and  not  on  observation  of  the  stage.    For  instance, 

[  Forly-five  ] 


a  student  should  never  be  instructed  as  to  a  character 
he  is  to  play.  He  should  be  made  to  observe  it.  The 
object  of  the  play  is  to  enact  a  story  in  terms  of  real 
life.  •  It  is  a  splendid  object  but  it  requires  close  study 
of  life  to  attain  this  end. 

Observation  of  the  merely  external  details  of  posi- 
tion and  gesture  is  just  as  important  as  the  observation 
of  character.  The  one  concerns  the  interpretation  of 
the  play;  the  other  the  stage  management.  The  more 
groups  are  observed  in  the  street,  in  the  house  or  in 
places  of  public  resort,  the  easier  becomes  the  problem 
of  grouping  on  the  stage.  If  the  powers  of  observation 
along  this  line  are  trained,  the  average  amateur  actor  will 
not  find  himself  puzzled  when  he  has  to  join  a  group  and 
the  living  figures  will  learn  'to  adjust  themselves  to 
inanimate  objects. 

Simplicity 

The  second  rule  of  common  sense  play  producing  is 
simplicity.  This  refers  not  only  to  the  acting  but  in  an 
even  greater  degree  to  the  setting  and  costumes.  It  is 
extremely  important  to  emphasize  only  what  is  essential 
in  the  play.  Instead  of  cluttering  up  the  stage  with 
violent  and  meaningless  architecture  or  excesses  in  the 
way  of  furnishing,  we  now  have  only  such  backgrounds 
and  furniture  as  we  actually  need.  The  effect  is  most 
restful. 

Ufiity  of  Conception  in  Play  Production 

The  whole  effect  of  a  play  is  lost  unless  the  director 
is  the  moving  spirit.  In  this  lies  the  greatest  virtue  of 
the  art  of  play  producing.  It  is  hard  to  define  the  quality 
of  unity.  It  is  a  matter  of  uniform  tempo  and  of  sub- 
ordination of  unimportant  details.  It  also  means  a  com- 
plete conviction  in  the  mind  of  the  producer  as  to  what 
is  actually  important. 

[  Forty-six\ 


Granville  Barker,  the  producer,  states  it  is  his  belief 
that  the  entrances,  the  exits,  the  tables  and  chairs  are  of 
minor  importance  in  a  stage  performance  and  that  the 
learning  of  the  lines  of  the  play  is  not  of  first  importance. 
Many  people  can,  if  they  will,  learn  by  heart  the  lines  of 
many  plays,  but  how  many  understand  the  lines  they 
have  learned?  Mr.  Barker  reminds  us  that  the  actual 
content  of  the  play  rests  not  in  what  is  said  but  what 
is  suggested.  This  should  be  the  producer's  first  study. 
What  does  the  play  actually  mean  and  what  actually 
are  these  characters  which  we  are  supposed  to  im- 
personate? 

Speed 

The  fourth  principle  of  common  sense  play  producing 
is  speed,  an  element  which  is  very  essential  in  an  amateur 
production.  A  warning  should  be  sounded  against 
languid  acting.  "Never  bore  your  audience,"  says  Miss 
Searle.  "If  you  play  with  sufficient  speed  you  will  not 
bore  them.  Remember  always  you  are  playing  before 
people  who  have  voluntarily  put  themselves  into  captivi- 
ty. Time  seems  long  to  any  individual  sitting  still  in 
darkness  and  looking  fixedly  at  one  spot.  Therefore,  to 
shorten  the  time  make  the  play  move  swiftly.  Cues 
must  be  rapidly  taken  up;  contrasts  must  be  as  varied 
as  possible. 

Difficulties  of  Play  Producing  for  Amateurs 

The  first  difficulty  is  always  the  selection  of  the  play. 
The  play  must  be  a  good  play  and  worth  producing. 
Inanity,  senselessness,  vagueness — these  should  be  avoid- 
ed in  all  the  walks  of  life.  They  should  be  particularly 
avoided  in  the  drama  which  is  a  direct  imitation  of  life 
and  in  dramatic  productions  which  have  the  ultimate 
object  of  forming  taste.  Language  is  the  true  origin 
of  drama.  If  you  present  an  idea  of  some  sort,  vigor- 
ously expressed,  all  the  accessories  of  the  drama,   in- 

\  Forty-seven  ] 


eluding  the  beautiful  stage,  will  fall  into  their  places.  It 
is  in  vain  to  say  that  scenery  should  be  subordinate  to 
the  play  if  the  play  selected  and  the  interpretation  of 
it  are  inane,  while  the  setting  is  original  and  fine.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  a  wonderful  experience  to  put  forth 
on  the  stage  a  vigorous  piece  of  thinking  and  see  the 
reaction  one  gets  from  an  audience.  One  realizes  then 
that  it  is  people's  ears  which  demand  satisfaction  first 
and  foremost.  They  really  do  want  their  understand- 
ing satisfied,  and  there  is  far  more  understanding  abroad 
than  is  usually  supposed. 

The  Actor 

Very  often  the  actor  himself  adds  to  the  difficulty 
of  production.  Many  people  seem  to  feel  that  acting 
is  most  easily  picked  up.  Its  technical  difficulties  are 
few  compared  to  those  of  music  and  painting.  But  just 
because  it  seems  easy  for  some  people  to  act,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  persuade  them  of  the  necessity  for  study.  It  is, 
therefore,  necessary  that  amateur  procedure  shall  lay 
down  certain  rules  and  stick  to  them.     These  are : 

1.  To  take  up  cues  rapidly 
'    2.  To  speak  slowly  and  distinctly.     (It  is  the  taking 
up  of  cues  which  gives  a  play  swiftness,  not  the 
rapid  speaking  of  the  lines) 

3.  To  make  only  such  gestures  as  have  a  meaning 

4.  To  walk  directly  and  definitely  from  one  point  to 
another  on  the  stage  without  hesitation  or  timor- 
ousness 

5.  To  turn  to  the  other  actors  in  the  shortest  and  sim- 
plest way 

6.  To  learn  the  art  of  standing  still  until  action  is 
called  for 

7.  To  learn  to  speak  from  every  part  of  the  stage  in 
whatever  position  the  action  requires 

[  Forty-eight  ] 


R  To  be  ready  to  shift  from  one  position  to  another 
during  rehearsal. 

The  Prompter 

The  prompter  is  apt  to  be  another  stumbling  block. 
Good  prompting  consists  in  the  prompter's  preceding 
rather  than  following  the  actor.  To  do  this  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  the  finger  running  continually  along  the  text  with 
occasional  glances  to  see  if  the  actor  needs  steadying. 
This  is  a  position  which  really  requires  experience  or 
if  not  experience  it  requires  habits  of  promptness  and 
accuracy.  The  prompter  should  sit  beside  the  producer 
in  rehearsals;  his  eyes  should  never  leave  the  book. 

Interruption  of  Rehearsals 

One  obstacle  the  producer  is  apt  to  provide  for  him- 
self. This  is  the  inclination  to  perfect  details  at  the 
expense  of  the  whole  play.  Drill  on  small  points  as  such 
should  come  early  or  in  special  rehearsals  assigned  to 
special  actors.  When  rehearsals  have  advanced  it  is 
much  better  not  to  interrupt.  The  habit  of  interruption 
in  rehearsal  militates  against  speed  in  performance.  A 
dress  rehearsal  should  never  be  interrupted. 

Two  Great  Obstacles 

For  neglect  in  coming  to  rehearsals  and  in  learning 
lines  there  has  never  been  a  satisfactory  remedy  in  the 
amateur  world,  and  yet  these  two  faults  account  for  the 
innumerable  amateur  entertainments  which  fail  to  enter- 
tain. They  remain  the  two  great  obstacles .  in  the  fall 
of  the  amateur  play  procedure  and  have  to  be  met  as 
they  occur. 

Scenery 

In  giving  plays  it  is  necessary  to  make  use  of  all  kinds 
of  auditoriums  and  assembly  halls  from  the  improvised 
stage  in  the  barn  of  the  country  district  and  the  audi- 
torium of  the  high  school  or  town  hall  to  the  perfectly 

(  Forty-nine  ] 


equipped  little  theatre.  It  is  therefore  important  that 
the  dramatic  director  shall  be  prepared  to  make  all  kinds 
of  adaptations.  For  example,  if  the  floor  of  the  hall 
does  not  slope,  the  stage  must  be  raised  three  or  three 
and  a  half  feet  from  the  floor. 
Cyclorama 

The  problem  of  devising  scenery  should  not  be  diffi- 
cult and  the  lack  of  stage  property  should  not  cause 
any  community  leader  to  hesitate  to  attempt  a  simple 
play.  The  least  expensive  scenery  is  the  so-called  new 
scenery.  Many  theatres  now  make  use  of  the  cyclorama 
made  of  heavy  curtains,  hung  on  a  semi-circular  iron 
frame  which  can  be  used  for  almost  every  type  of  play 
except  for  a  kitchen  scene.  If  only  one  cyclorama  can 
be  afforded  these  curtains  should  be  a  forest  green  denim 
or  some  neutral  color.  Some  of  the  curtain-cycloramas 
in  use  in  little  theatres  are  made  of  Canton  flannel, 
velour  or  plush.  The  colors  most  in  use  are  pale  gray, 
faint  sky-blue  and  deep  blue.  A  Canton  flannel  cyclorama 
can  be  had  complete  for  approximately  $35,  if  made  by 
the  people  of  the  community. 

Where  there  must  be  a  proscenium  curtain,  some  heavy 
material  such  as  Canton  flannel,  denim  or  felt  should 
be  used.  This  curtain  should  be  parted  in  the  middle 
and  hung  on  rings  to  a  strong  curtain-pole  so  that  it 
can  easily  be  moved  backward  and  forward.  Dark 
green  is  usually  the  best  color  for  such  a  curtain.  If, 
at  the  beginning,  even  such  a  curtain  as  this  is  too  much 
for  a  rural  community  to  aff'ord,  then  let  everyone  give 
some  old  curtains,  or  couch  covers,  or  strips  of  old 
woolen  dresses,  or  cloaks,  after  a  thorough  canvass  of 
the  neighborhood  has  been  made.  Have  all  of  these 
dyed  black  and  then  stitched  together  to  make  a  curtain. 

Likewise,  for  a  community  having  very  little  money, 
it  is  well  to  build  folding  screens  for  the  stage.  These 
screens   should  be  constructed   as   an  ordinary  wooden 

[  Fifty  ] 


clotheshorse  is  constructed,  and  the  tops  of  the  screens 
should  be  higher  than  the  top  line  of  the  proscenium 
curtain.  They  should  be  so  arranged  that  there  will  be 
an  entrance  at  background  or  at  right  and  left.  Imita- 
tion windows  can  be  fastened  to  the  screens.  When 
such  wooden  frame  screens  are  built  they  should  be 
covered  either  with  compo-board  tinted  a  neutral  shade, 
preferably  a  pale  gray  or  oatmeal  color,  or  with  burlap 
stretched  tautly  across.  (Compo-board  can  be  had  wher- 
ever architect's  supplies  are  carried.)  This  set  can  be 
used  for  realistic  scenes.  Probably  the  least  expensive 
way  to  secure  burlap  is  to  purchase  it  in  bolts  from 
such  companies  as  Charles  Broadway  Rouss,  549  Broad- 
way, New  York  City.  Theatrical  supplies  of  all  kinds 
may  be  secured  from  concerns  such  as  the  Theatrical 
Stage  Rigging  Company,  Syracuse,  New  York. 

With  many  cycloramas  in  community  theatres  where 
the  staging  is  in  the  hands  of  experts,  pylons  are  used. 
Pylons  are  square  and  oblong  blocks  of  wood  painted 
a  neutral  color,  usually  to  match  the  hangings  which 
they  accompany.  They  can  be  utilized  to  form  all  sorts 
of  combinations  like  children's  blocks. 

Pylons  may  also  be  constructed  on  light  wooden  frames 
made  of  2"  board  strips.  Over  these  frames  canvas, 
fabrikona  or  unbleached  muslin  may  be  tacked.  The 
size  of  the  surface  of  the  oblong  pylon  should  be  2^ 
X  18'  if  the  dimensions  of  the  room  permit  of  a  height 
of  18'.  The  canvas  should  be  painted  in  broken  color — 
first  a  coat  of  light  grey  with  spots  of  darker  grey 
flecked  upon  it.  This  flecking  may  be  done  by  an  ordi- 
nary sponge.  Blue  paint  or  any  other  color  may  be 
used  instead  of  grey.  Broken  color  receives  any  color 
or  light  thrown  upon  it. 

Cost  of  Scenery 

Scenery  does  not  have  to  be  expensive  in  order  to 

[  Fiftv-one  ] 


be  beautiful.  Simplicity  is  the  one  thing  to  be  striven 
for.  Some  very  wonderful  effects  have  been  obtained 
by  community  theatres  in  which  the  least  expensive 
materials  were  used.  As  proof  of  this  there  is  the  fol- 
lowing description  from  a  recent  book  on  little  theatres : 

"With  only  the  scantest  sums  to  draw  upon,  the 
scenery  was  remarkably  atmospheric  and  remarkably 
differentiated.  Its  very  simplicity  was  an  asset.  For 
the  first  act.  .  .  .  the  walls  were  a  neutral  gray.  There 
was  a  wide  window  at  back  opening  on  a  night  sky 
faintly  powdered  with  stars.  The  furniture  in  the  room 
Vv-as  neutral  tinted.  A  fire  glowed  redly  on  the  hearth. 
There  was  a  three-legged  stool  nearby;  and  when  Ann 
entered  and  flung  off  her  bright  red  cape.  .  .  .  the  whole 
room  started  into  unity  and  life.  It  was  a  singularly 
satisfying  setting,  and  cost  $3.25." 

These  are  some  of  the  effects  that  can  be  obtained 
with  compo-board  plus  imagination.  In  general  a  cyclo- 
rama  of  cotton-backed  plush  curtains  costs  $150.  A 
cyclorama  of  canton  flannel  or  burlap  curtains  can  be 
had  for  about  $30;  a  cyclorama  of  unbleached  sheeting 
dyed  deep  blue  can  be  had  for  $15.  or  less.  It  all  de- 
pends on  the  size  of  the  stage. 

Remaking  Scenery.  The  Peabody  Playhouse  of  Boston 
can  teach  a  lesson  to  little  community  theatres  who  face 
the  problem  of  remaking  old  scenery.  This  in  particular 
applies  to  groups  of  players  who  have  to  use  temporary 
halls  or  auditoriums,  where  battered  scenery  of  the  old 
type  still  exists.  At  the  Peabody  Playhouse  an  ugly  I 
brown  and  red  dining  room  set  was  repapered  with.l 
oatmeal  colored  wall  paper  making  a  fine  neutral  back-; 
ground  for  realistic  scenes.  Another  ugly  scene  was 
repainted  a  deep  and  beautiful  blue. 

Further  practical  suggestions  along  these  lines  will 
be  found  in  the  books  on  Theatre  Art  listed  in  the 
Bibliography. 

[  Fifty-two] 


Storing  Scenery.  Scenery  can  be  stacked  back  of  the 
stage,  in  a  scene  loft  or  in  the  basement  under  the  stage. 
In  planning  for  storing  the  scenery,  see  to  it  that  the 
place  in  which  it  is  stored  has  the  same  dimensions  as 
the  proscenium. 

Lighting 
One  of  the  technical  problems  which  people  interested 
in  community  drama  have  first  to  meet  is  that  of  light- 
ing, which  is  still  in  the  experimental  stage.  In  spite 
of  the  problems  involved,  however,  one  does  not  need 
to  possess  all  the  resources  of  a  professional  producer 
to  secure  excellent  effects.  Artistic  results  may  be 
obtained  by  people  who,  although  they  have  only  the 
most  primitive  understanding  of  electricity,  appreciate 
the  need  for  the  accentuation  of  certain  effects  and  for 
obtaining  variety.  It  is,  of  course,  important,  in  staging 
a  play,  to  consult  the  electrician  in  charge  to  learn  the 
various  lighting  effects  which  may  be  secured  and  to 
experiment  until  the  desired  results  are  obtained,  al- 
ways keeping  in  mind  the  fundamental  principle  that 
there  must  not  be  too  much  light. 

Some  Suggestions  for  Lighting 

Bassett  Jones,  in  a  paper  read  before  a  meeting  of  the 
Electrical   Engineering  Society   said : 

"I  am  absolutely  opposed  to  'effects'  on  the  stage- 
to  the  'spot'  which,  I  am  glad  to  say,  has  been  relegated 
to  the  Burlesque  and  Musical  'show*;  to  mechanical 
lighting  'stunts'  of  all  kinds  which  tend  to  reduce  the 
stage  to  what  I  have  called  'a  mechanic's  universe.' 

"Nor  is  it  enough  to  merely  flood  the  stage  with  light. 
The  direction,  quantity  and  quality  of  the  light  count 
for  much.  By  direction,  I  mean  the  effect  of  the  light 
in  giving  perspective  and  shadow,  which  is,  therefore,  of 
great  moment  in  the  picture.  The  best  scene  can  be 
killed  by  distortion.  Accenting  the  wrong  high  lights 
is  like  bad  pronunciation  in  speaking — it  jars. 
I  Fifty-three  ] 


"Possibly  there  has  never  been  a  case  where  asym- 
metric* lighting  of  the  stage  did  not  have  the  best  of 
the  argument.  Sometimes  a  silhouette  is  quite  as  inter- 
esting— even  more  so — than  a  full  face  effect.  What- 
ever is  done,  remember  the  entire  object  is  to  paint 
into  the  scene  just  the  atmosphere  that  will  best  serve  to 
accent  the  acting  situation  whether  that  be  farcical  or 
tragic,  or  merely  the  presentation  of  an  exquisite  pic- 
ture, dancing,  music  or  what  not. 

"As  to  quantity,  generally  one  cannot  see  for  the  light. 
Chromatic  f  value  cannot  be  obtained  at  high  intensity. 
You  may  have  one  or  the  other,  but  not  both.  With  the 
use  of  high  intensity  comes  the  use  of  garish  and  crude 
color  arrangements,  for  the  color  must  fight  for  its 
life.     Nothing  fine  can  be  done  under  such  conditions. 

"Upon  quality  depends  a  great  deal — whether  the 
scene  looks  hard  or  has  atmosphere.  This  is  largely 
a  matter  of  distribution  and  diffusion.  Shadows  must 
be  luminous  and  free  from  sharp  edges.  There  must 
be  no  marked  focusing — nothing  metallic  about  the  light. 

"If  we  can  draw  any  rule  at  all  from  the  foregoing, 
it  might  be  this :  The  least  possible  amount  of  light 
in  conformity  with  the  detail  required,  diffused  and  soft, 
but  with  a  distinct  general  direction  and  quietly  tinted." 

In  order  to  obtain  color  effect,  the  method  of  using 
colored  screens  before  the  lights  is  the  most  popular. 
These  screens  may  be  made  from  gellatin  sheets  in 
wooden  frames  protected  by  wire  or  by  gauzes  hung 
before  the  lights.  If  the  lamp  is  very  hot,  you  cannot 
use  a  gellatin  sheet  near.  In  this  case,  it  is  more 
practical  and  safer  to  direct  the  lighting  through  a  gauze 
curtain  hung  several  feet  before  the  light.  The  frames 
for  the  gellatin  sheets  may  be  bought  ready  made  from 


*  Asymmetric  Lighting. — When  a  lig-ht  effect  is  obtained  from 
separate  lamps  to  be  asymmetric,  the  quality  of  light  from  each 
lamp  must  be  the  same  at  the  point  of  contact  and  diffuse 
evenly. 

t  Chromatic — variation  in  color  or  intensity. 

[  Fifty-four  \ 


such  stores  as  the  Universal  Stage  Lighting  Company, 
24  West  50th  Street,  New  York  City,  or  they  can  be 
made  in  the  following  manner: 

Cut  a  2"  frame  out  of  a  square  of  cardboard.  Two 
of  these  squares  fastened  together  by  ordinary  clips 
with  a  sheet  of  gelatine  between,  makes  it  possible  to 
use  the  slide  without  danger  of  breaking.  If  gelatine 
cannot  be  obtained  sheets  of  tissue  paper  may  be  used, 
though  the  paper  does  not  permit  the  light  rays  to  pass 
through  as  easily  as  does  the  gelatine  sheet.  For  pro- 
ducing winter  effects  blue  sheets  may  be  used;  for 
spring,  red  and  amber.' 

In  obtaining  the  beautiful  effects,  of  which  Mr.  Jones 
speaks,  which  tend  to  make  the  lighting  a  part  of  the 
play,  appliances  may,  as  often  as  not,  be  homemade. 
To  quote  further  from  Mr.  Jones :  "I  had  believed  some 
years  ago  that  foot  lights,  these  seemingly  unnatural 
and  distorting  sources  of  illumination,  could  be  relegated 
to  the  scrap  heap.  Since,  I  have  learned  the  error  of 
my  ways,  and  am  convinced  of  the  importance  of  the 
'foots'  now  that  I  have  seen  the  unfortunate  results  of 
their  abandonment.  I,  too,  had  imagined  the  stage  lighted 
only  from  above  and  this  we  tried — I  think  in  1913 — 
but  only  experimentally. 

"The  trouble  is  not  in  the  foot  lights  per  se.  With 
purely  overhead  lighting  the  facial  shadows  are  too 
pronounced  because  they  are  not  luminous.  The  foot 
light  should  serve  the  purpose  of  relieving  this  con- 
trast— not  of  reversing  the  intensity. 

"So,  too,  depending  on  the  situation,  the  foots  require 
flexibility.  Usually  there  is  a  locus  of  action  in  the 
scene.  Here  the  maximum  of  illumination  is  required, 
both  from  above  and  below.  There  is  required,  there- 
fore, a  sectional  foot  light  controlled  in  sections*,  and 


*  A  sectional  foot  light  controlled  in  sections — foot  lights  built 
in  sections,  the  lights  turned  on  or  oflf  independently  from  the 
switchboard. 

[  Fifiy-^ve  11 


portable,  so  that  it  may  be  concentrated  at  one  side 
or  the  other.  A  continuous  foot  through  is  neither 
necessary  or  advantageous.  Rather  should  the  foot  be 
in  the  form  of  groups  of  two  or  three  light  units,  the 
groups  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  moved  longitudinally 
from  below,  and  the  maximum  intensity  directed  at  will." 

Again,  the  glare  from  the  exposed  filaments  *  is  a 
source  of  trouble.  This  can  be  obviated  by  setting  the 
filaments  horizontally,  or  nearly  so  and  enclosing  each 
lamp  in  a  deep  bowl-shaped  metal  reflector  of  the  exten- 
sive type."  By  using  the  foot  lights  as  Mr.  Jones  sug- 
gests, the  difficulty  of  having  the  light  apparently  come 
from  the  earth,  instead  of  the  sky,  is  removed.  With 
the  use,  in  conjunction  with  these,  of  other  lights  stronger 
than  the  foots,  the  impression  of  diffused  or  natural 
lighting  is  obtained. 

The  most  important  thing  in  stage  lighting  is  to  have 
the  lights  flexible.  It  seems  more  satisfactory,  for  in- 
stance, to  have  lighting  appliances  not  so  perfectly  con 
structed,  provided  they  permit  of  a  variety  of  colors 
as  well  as  distribution.  Mr.  Jones  says:  "There 
nothing  on  the  stage  so  unwieldy  or  so  inefficient  as  tl 
common  border  light.  For  this  we  have  substituted 
line  of  white  enamel  or  aluminum  finish  steel  reflecto 
of  various  shapes  depending  on  conditions. 


)rs 

\ 


"The  border  supports  are  of  iron  pipe,  the  larger' 
units  hung  from  the  pipes  by  chains,  so  that  they  can 
be  set  in  any  location  on  the  pipe  and  the  maximum 
flux  directed  in  any  direction.  This  gives  great  flexi- 
bility in  the  lighting  arangement." 

Of  course  on  some  stages  it  may  be  necessary  to  usd 
more  of  these  pipe  border  lights,  and  carrying  Mr. 
Jones'  idea  still  further,  adapt  his  foot  light  suggestions 
to  the  border  or  overhead  lights.     Some  producers  have 

*  Exposed  filament — the  electric  lamp  is  uncovered. 

[  Fifty-six " 


tried  dividing  the  borders  into  sections,  each  a  com- 
plete unit  in  itself — say  four  sections  of  three  lights 
each,  every  section  containing  the  essential  beauty  of 
the  blue,  pale  amber  and  rose  light  combination  which 
makes  a  natural  light.  This  gives  still  greater  flexi- 
bility than  one  pipe  for  they  may  be  placed  in  different 
positions  at  the  top  of  the  stage,  thereby  empha^sizing 
different  spots  on  the  stage. 

In  order  to  augment  stage  lights  further,  to  produce 
beautiful  shadows,  to  throw  light  through  windows,  to 
emphasize  back  drop  or  to  silhouette  an  actor,  there  are 
small  standing  or  hanging  appliances  which  can  be  very 
easily  made  and  which  need  cost  but  little.  These  are 
adaptations  of  the  so-called  "box"  or  "olivet"  light. 
In  places  where  the  insurance  laws  are  not  strict  it  is 
possible  to  make  olivet  lights  of  common  soap  boxes, 
shallow  and  lined  with  asbestos  paper,  each  box  contain- 
ing several  electric  lights  of  high  intensity.  These  are 
easy  to  handle  and  can  be  readily  put  any  place  on  the 
stage,  either  hung  to  the  side  or  set  upon  some  sort  of 
a  crude  tripod.  Here,  as  in  the  border  lights,  it  is 
well  to  make  provision  for  the  magic  color  combination. 
If  the  insurance  regulations  will  not  permit  of  this  kind 
of  a  box  light,  square  iron  roasting  pans  painted  white 
inside  can  be  used.  This  type  of  box  light  is  a  little 
more  difficult  to  make  and  also  a  little  heavier  to  handle, 
but  it  pays  for  itself  in  the  end  by  its  stability  and  long 
life.  A  common  office  drop  light  with  a  white  painted 
or  corrugated  steel  reflector  can  be  placed  in  such  a  way 
as  to  throw  a  fine  light  on  some  particular  object. 

One  of  the  most  important  appliances  for  beautiful 
stage  lighting  is  the  dimmer*  or  reostat.  There  are 
all  sorts  of  recipes  for  homemade  dimmers  but  if  the 
money  can  be  saved  in  other  directions  it  is  advisable 
to   buy   a   dimmer   with    theatrical   lighting   equipment. 


*  A    dimmer — An    electrical    apparatus    by    which    light    is    de- 
creased and  not  cut  oflf. 

r  Fifty-seven  1 


Small  portable  dimmers  can  be  inexpensively  obtained 
and  it  is  more  satisfactory  to  have  two  small  ones  than 
one  large  one. 

For  those  wishing  to  make  their  dimmers  the  fol- 
lowing suggestions  are  offered.  In  the  bottom  of  a  five 
gallon  jug,  three  quarters  full  of  salt  water,  place  an 
iron  plate  which  connects  by  wire  to  the  meter.  Con- 
nected with  the  wire  which  leads  to  the  switchboard  is 
Ya,"  brass  rod  on  the  end  of  which  is  a  pointed  brass 
plate  3"  X  AYz"  x  Vs"  thick.  This  rod  is  placed  in  the 
jug  of  water.  By  drawing  the  rod  slowly  upward  the 
lights  will  be  dimmed. 

While  the  equipment  which  has  been  described  will 
not  meet  all  needs  it  is  entirely  adequate  in  the  early 
stages  of  a  community  drama  movement.  The  im- 
portant thing  to  remember  is  the  desirability  of  lighting 
a  stage  beautifully,  harmoniously  and  softly,  rather  than 
brilliantly.  Do  not  strive  for  bizarre  effects  in  realistic 
plays  but  work  out  a  lighting  which  shall  interpret  the 
spirit  of  the  lines  and  assist  rather  than  harass  the 
actor. 

Lighting  the  School  Auditorium  or  Toimi  Hall 

The  suggestions  which  Mr.  Jones  has  to  offer  refer 
in  the  main  to  theatres  which  are  well  equipped  and 
where  in  most  instances  it  is  possible  to  have  the  services 
of  an  expert  electrician  able  to  take  Mr.  Jones*  direc- 
tions and  act  upon  them.  There  will,  however,  be  many 
instances  where  the  only  facility  consists  of  a  stage  in 
the  school  building,  or  local  hall  or  auditorium,  which 
will  have  electricity  but  may  not  be  equipped  with 
border  or  foot  lights.  In  such  cases  it  is  necessary  to 
bring  in  from  the  outside  appliances  which  will  meet 
the  need. 

Any  building  that  is  wired  for  electricity  presents  a 
usable  medium  for  stage  lighting  appliances.  The  di- 
rector need  only  consult  with  an  electrician  giving  an 

[  Fifty-eight  ] 


explicit  account  of  what  he  wants  and  the  electrician 
can,  from  one  of  the  outlets,  by  means  of  a  cable  at- 
tached, introduce  the  current  anywhere  in  the  building. 
Foot  light  strips  can  be  made,  hanging  borders  or  side 
strips  all  fed  from  this  one  outlet.  It  will  not  be  neces- 
sary for  the  director  to  make  these  electric  appliances 
himself  because  it  is  easily  done  by  an  ordinary  electri- 
cian, if  explicit  directions  are  given.  Another  way  to 
light  a  stage,  if  there  are  electric  lights  on  the  stage 
for  ordinary  lighting  purposes  (and  the  fire  laws  allow 
it),  is  to  attach  extension  wires  and  use  reflectors,  thus 
carrying  your  lamp  anywhere  you  wish  on  your  stage. 
Lighting  without  Electric  Wiring 

The  use  of  electricity  has  become  so  general  that  there 
are  a  few  places  today  where  electric  lighting  may  not 
be  utilized.  In  the  very  few  rural  communities,  how- 
ever, where  there  is  no  electric  plant  in  the  town,  it  is 
often  possible  to  use  the  lighting  systems  such  as  the 
Delco  Lighting  System  which  will  send  batteries  and 
lighting  apparatus  anywhere.  Automobile  windshield 
lights  can  be  used  to  great  advantage  for  lighting  stages, 
and  the  new  apparatus  which  can  be  attached  to  the 
storage  batteries  of  any  kind  of  automobile  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  moving  pictures  and  lighting  a  hall  at 
the  same  time,  may  also  be  used  to  light  a  stage  where 
there  is  no  electricity.  There  are  buildings  which  are 
lighted  by  gas  only.  In  this  case,  properly  protected  gas 
jets  can  be  used  for  border  lights  and  footlights,  as 
well  as  sidelights.  Where  none  of  these  methods  can 
be  used,  a  row  of  kerosene  lamps  with  reflectors  would 
make  very  good  footlights  and  bracketed  sidelights 
which  can  be  concealed  by  the  curtains.  The  Gellatin 
sheets,  described  above,  may  also  be  used  in  connection 
with  these  methods  of  lighting.  In  lighting  by  kerosene 
as  well  as  in  other  forms  of  lighting,  it  is  essential  to 
keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  it  is  better  to  have  too  little 
than  too  much  light. 

[  Fifty-nine^ 


Among  the  books  which  contain  chapters  on  lighting 
are: 

How  to  Produce  Amateur  Pktys,  by  Barett  H.  Clark. 
On  Building  a  Theatre,  by  Irving  Pitchell. 
Shakespeare  for  Community  Players,  by  Roy  Mitchell. 
The  Theatre  of  Today,  by  H.  H.  Moderwell. 

(See  Bibliography  for  publishers.) 

Make-up 

The  art  of  make-up  is  exceedingly  important  and  the 
amateur  player  should  be  encouraged  to  give  greater 
consideration  to  it.  If  the  actor  does  not  look  the  part 
he  is  bound  to  be  unsuccessful  in  his  portrayal,  no  matter 
how  well  he  may  act  the  character. 

It  is  suggested  that  every  player  learn  how  to  do  his 
own  make-up.  In  all  probability  the  best  way  to  accom- 
plish this  is  for  him  to  sit  in  front  of  a  mirror  and 
apply  the  make-up  until  good  results  are  obtained.  No 
two  faces  are  made  up  in  exactly  the  same  way  and  too 
much  care  cannot  be  given  to  the  choice  of  the  shades 
of  rouge  and  powder  so  that  they  will  blend  into  the 
natural  coloring.  One  writer  has  suggested  that  the 
wonderful  effects  which  can  be  produced  by  high 
lights,  shadows,  lines  and  curves  of  the  mouth  may  be 
learned  by  studying  the  beautiful  faces  in  art. 

Mr.  C.  F.  Deutschmann  of  New  York  who  has  the 
past  forty  years  given  his  time  to  the  art  of  make-up 
offers  the  following  suggestions: 

Young  Man 

Spread  light  flesh  grease  paint  evenly  over  the  face 
and  blend  it  smooth  with  the  ends  of  the  fingers. 
Apply  black  grease  paint  with  lining  stump  under  eye- 
lids and  bring  line  a  little  further  out  to  enlarge  the 
eye*.  Apply  carmine  to  cheek  and  spread  evenly,  toning 
down  edges  to  blend  with  flesh  color.     Line  eyebrows 

[  Sixty  ] 


with  black  or  brown.  Apply  lip  rouge  to  lips  being 
careful  to  get  none  in  the  corner  of  the  mouth,  as  it 
will  make  it  appear  larger.  Apply  powder  over  face 
and  brush  off  with  haresfoot.  Touch  chin  slightly  with 
Number  18  rouge. 

Young  Woman 

Spread  light  flesh  grease  paint  evenly  over  the  face- 
very  thin.  Line  the  eyelids  and  eyebrows  as  for  make-up 
for  young  man.  Use  blue  grease  paint  if  preferred. 
Apply  powder  with  puff.  Put  on  Number  18  carefully 
with  haresfoot.  Apply  lip  rouge  according  to  the  in- 
structions for  juvenile  make-up.  Number  18  rouge 
should  also  be  used  on  the  lobe  of  ears  and  on  nostrils 
and  chin. 

Old  Man 

Spread  dark  flesh  grease  paint  evenly  over  face  using 
gray  for  hollowing  or  sinking  cheeks  or  eyes  if  neces- 
sary, also  for  short  growth  of  beard  and  for  making 
eyebrows  gray.  For  a  healthy  character  use  Lake  on 
cheeks  and  chin  and  for  inebriates  also  on  the  nose. 
Apply  brown  for  lines  or  wrinkles  and  over-line  with 
white  to  bring  out  more  distinctly.  Finish  with  powder. 
For  heavier  or  sickly  old  man  flesh  colors  are  necessary 
and  the  lines  should  be  much  heavier. 

Old  Woman 

Spread  flesh  grease  paint  and  line  with  brown  as  for 
old  men.  If  for  cranky  or  cadaverous  characters  the 
cheeks,  eyes  and  lips  can  be  sunken  with  gray.  To 
depict  good  natured  characters  use  Number  18  rouge  on 
cheeks,  lower  than  is  suggested  for  young  woman. 

Child 

Very  little  make-up  is  required  for  a  child.  A  little 
rouge  on  the  cheeks  and  lips  is  sufficient. 

[  Sixty-one  ] 


To  remove  make-up,  rub  cold  cream  over  face  and 
wipe.  Every  actor  should  own  his  own  make-up  box. 
If  this  is  impossible,  the  following  articles  have  been 
suggested  by  Mr.  Deutschmann  for  a  general  make-up 
box: 

Light  flesh  grease  paint 

Brunette  flesh  grease  paint 

Sallow  flesh  grease  paint 

Sunburn  grease  paint 

White  grease  paint 

Gray  grease  paint 

Blue  grease  paint 

Dark  red  grease  paint 

Two  or  three  eyebrow  pencils — blue  and  black 

Eyebrow  liner 

Crepe  hair — all  shades 

Spirit   gum 

Powder — white,   pink   and   brunette 

Rouge — Number  18 

Lip  Rouge 

Nose  putty 

Burnt  cork 

More  detailed  information  concerning  make-up  may 
be  found  in: 

How  to  Make-Up,  a  practical  guide  for  amateurs  and 
beginners  with  several  illustrations,  by  S.  J.  Adair  Fitz- 
Gerald.  Obtained  from  Samuel  French,  28  West  38th 
Street,  New  York  City,  price  75c. 

Shakespeare  for  Community  Players  by  Roy  Mitchell. 
Obtained  from  the  Drama  League  Bookshop,  29  West 
47th  Street,  New  York  City.  Price  $2.50,  postage  10c 
This  book  contains  a  splendid  chapter  on  make-up. 

Making  Up  by  James  Young,  an  excellent  book  con- 
taining several  illustrations,  may  be  obtained   from  the 

\*Sixly-two  ] 


Drama   League   Bookshop,   29  West   47th    Street,    New 
York  City,  price  $1.50,  postage  10c. 

A  make-up  box  containing  the  necessary  articles  may 
be  secured  from  the  New  York  Drama  League,  29 
West  47th  Street.  In  ordering  it  is  necessary  to  state 
whether  the  material  is  to  be  used  for  a  man  or  a  woman. 


[  Sixty-three  ] 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   COMMUNITY    DRAMATIC   CENTER 

If  community  drama  is  drama  of  the  people  it  must 
find  its  home  where  the  people  are.  If  it  is  to  grow 
in  ever  widening  circles  it  must  reach  out  into  neighbor- 
hoods using  whatever  facilities  offer. 

UsixG  Existing  Facilities 

The  school,  the  church,  the  parish  house,  the  town 
hall,  the  settlement,  the  auditorium  and  assembly  hall, 
wherever  they  may  be,  thus  become  dramatic  centers  and 
should  be  used  to  further  the  art  life  of  the  various 
neighborhoods  in  which  they  are  situated. 

The  community  players  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  use  the 
auditorium  of  a  high  school  building;  the  community 
players  of  Allendale,  New  Jersey,  utilize  a  parish  house. 
It  is  an  excellent  idea  for  the  players  to  put  certain  dec- 
orations, if  this  is  possible,  in  the  auditorium  they  are 
using  which  will  lend  it  atmosphere  and  definitely  stamp 
it  as  their  own.  Thus  the  colors  of  the  Peter  Pan 
Players  of  Allendale  are  orange  and  black.  Posters 
in  these  colors,  disks,  shields  and  insignia  are  put  up 
in  the  parish  house  on  the  night  of  the  performance. 
If  desired  this  idea  may  be  carried  further  and  ushers 
may  have  arm  bands,  caps  or  cloaks  of  the  theatre's 
colors. 

Whatever  else  is  done  these  community  players  should 
have  a  definite  name,  such  as  the  Community  Players,  the 
Prairie  Players,  the  Intetvale  Players,  the  Pleasantville 
Players  or  the  Roaming  Players.  The  name  must  be 
carefully  chosen  and  must  come  to  stand  to  the  local 
public  for  something  important  and  fine. 

[  Sixty-four  1 


The   Special    Dramatic    Center 

It  has  been  suggested  by  one  dramatic  expert  that 
in  addition  to  using  existing  facilities  and  through  them 
developing  neighborhood  groups  of  players,  there  is  a 
great  advantage  if  the  groups  interested  in  drama  will 
unite  to  maintain  a  dramatic  center  which  shall  be  a 
room  either  large  or  small  which  is  accessible  and 
which  may  be  equipped  in  much  the  same  way  as  an 
office  is  equipped. 

Equipment  of  the  Community  Dramatic   Center 

There  should  be  a  small  raised  platform  at  one  end 
of  the  room  suitable  for  lectures,  and  an  adjustable 
lectern.  This  platform  and  lectern  can  be  used  for 
drama  talks,  the  lectern  being  practical  for  showing 
small  models  of  scenes  and  methods  of  lighting  and 
equipping  them.  There  should  also  be  sufficient  camp 
chairs  for  committee  meetings  and  general  gatherings 
A  bulletin  board  should  have  all  information  on  local 
dramatic  activities.  A  piano  should  be  added  to  the 
room's  equipment   if   possible. 

The  room  must  be  made  attractive ;  its  purpose  must 
be  kept  constantly  in  view.  Almost  everyone  is  familiar 
with  the  methods  used  nowadays  in  public  libraries, 
whereby  lovely  illustrations  are  cut  from  current  maga- 
zines, mounted  on  cardboard  and  placed  where  they 
wilf  most  interest  people.  This  has  been  found  an 
excellent  way  of  stimulating  interest  in  books.  This 
same  method  should  be  applied  to  the  community  dram- 
atic center  room.  The  community  theatre  for  which 
the  people  are  working  should  be  kept  in  view  by  plans 
and  diagrams.  Pictures  of  the  staging  and  accomplish- 
ments of  other  community  theatres  should  have  a  place 
fin  the  walls.  Scene  designs  or  posters  in  color  arc  also 
an  adjunct.  Anything  that  is  informative  as  to  the 
new  stage  art  should  be  clearly  held  before  the  public. 

[  Sixty-five  ] 


Besides  this  there  should  be  a  dramatic  book  shelf  of 
the  best  books  on  drama,  either  purchased  or  loaned  by 
the  committee.  There  should  be  lists  of  plays  and  a 
large  costume  scrap  book  in  which  are  kept  the  best  ideas 
on  costumes  taken  from  current  magazines.'  Mr.  Alfred 
Arvold  of  the  Little  Theatre  at  Fargo,  North  Dakota, 
has  stated  that  he  has  found  costume  scrapbooks  in- 
valuable in  communit}^  dramatic  work. 

The   Use  of  the  Center 

This  room  should  be  used  as  a  center  of  publicity  for 
getting  the  community  theatre  idea  started.  The  more 
dignity  there  is  attached  to  such  publicity  the  greater 
hold  it  will  have  on  a  sustaining  public. 

If  the  room  is  large  enough  special  talks  on  drama 
should  be  given  there.  These  talks  should  at  first  be 
informative  rather  than  theoretical.  People  should  come 
to  this  room  to  learn  what  drama  can  do. 

The    room    should    also   be   a   center   of    information. 
School  teachers  and  librarians  should  feel  free  to  come 
there    and    consult    about    plays.      So    should    churches, , 
settlements,   playground   workers,   and   recreation  center, 
leaders.  ' 

On  occasion  it  may  be  well  to  bring  the  professional 
theatre  and  the  community  theatre  together  by  having 
a  small  tea  or  reception  for  a  visiting  player,  dramatist 
or  designer.  This  is  often  a  fine  way  of  quickening 
popular  interest.  It  is  used  by  The  Community  Players 
of  Boston  and  others. 

The  Workshop 

In  connection  with  the  temporary  auditorium  it  is 
desirable,  if  possible,  to  have  some  place  where  costumes 
and  scenery  are  designed  and  made  and  where  possible 
rehearsals  or  play  readings  may  take  place.  Such  a 
room  as  is  described  for  a  special  community  dramatic 

[  Sixty-six  ] 


center  is  best  for  this.  Even  community  theatres  which 
possess  their  own  buildings  have  such  workshops  in  con- 
nection with  them.  The  Little  Theatre  of  Indianapolis, 
for  example,  has  a  workshop  of  this  kind  and  in  con- 
nection with  it  a  small  busines  office.  With  a  little 
ingenuity  a  business  office,  workshop  and  community 
dramatic  center  may  be  combined  by  the  use  of  partitions. 

Equipment  of  Workshop 

It  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  fully  equipped  workshop 
in  order  to  begin  the  making  of  costumes,  properties 
and  scenery.  The  room  should  be  as  large  as  possible 
with  running  water  available.  The  equipment  should 
consist  of  one  or  two  large  tables  with  plenty  of  chairs 
and  benches  and  there  should  be  available  thimbles, 
needles,  thread,  scissors,  measuring  rods  and  a  sewing 
machine.  With  the  addition  of  old  tin  pails,  wash 
basins  or  similar  utensils  for  dyeing,  enough  equipment 
will  be  furnished  to  put  on  any  small  production  and 
very  often  a  pageant.  If  the  room  does  not  contain 
cupboards,  shelves  and  wardrobes  for  storing  costumes 
and  properties  should  be  constructed.  As  the  work 
progresses  the  more  expensive  equipment  such  as  a 
carpenter's  bench,  a  stove  and  other  furniture  may  be 
added. 

It  is  suggested  that  a  model  toy  stage  be  constructed 
of  the  proportions  of  the  one  that  is  to  be  used  by  the 
producing  group  and  that  this  model  should  be  used  to 
stage  all  productions  before  they  are  carried  out  in 
the  actual  theatre. 

The  workshop  idea  is  one  which  may  advantageously 
be  utilized  in  connection  with  the  pageant  as  well  as  with 
the  theatre.  In  working  it  out  the  talents  of  many 
members  of  the  community  will  be  employed.  In  writing 
of  the  pageant  workshop  Elizabeth  Grimball,  pageant 
writer  and  producer,  says : 

"One  of  the  most  vital  points  in  the  organization  and 

[  Sixty-seven  ] 


preparation  of  a  community  pageant  is  the  establish- 
ment at  once  of  tlie  pageant  workshop  where  the  cos- 
tumes are  designed,  planned,  dyed  and  made  for  the 
cast.  This  not  only  saves  an  enormous  budget  of  ex- 
pense in  the  renting  of  costumes  (more  than  usually  in- 
correct in  style,  and  always  unsatisfactory  in  color 
unless  made  to  order)  but  it  also  provides  a  place 
where  instructive  and  creative  work  on  this  most  im- 
portant phase  of  the  production  can  be  done  by  the 
community  itself.  Educationally  and  artistically  the 
pageant  workhsop  is  of  great  value  for  it  creates  a  center 
of  interest  to  which  the  whole  town  reacts — the  schools 
in  particular. 

"In  the  city  of  Raleigh  where  I  have  recently  produced 
a  community  pageant,  the  interest  among  the  children 
in  the  Elizabethan  costumes  was  very  great,  so  much 
so,  that  every  day  after  school  numbers  of  little  boys 
and  girls  came  to  see  us  demanding  firmly  to  be  shown 
the  'clothes  they  wore  way  back  yonder.'  The  day  we 
had  Queen  Elizabeth  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  photo- 
graphs taken,  we  took  their  clothes  to  the  Governor's 
mansion  leaving  them  over  night.  On  the  following  day 
two  little  boys  who  had  been  very  faithful,  coming 
every  day  to  see  us,  burst  into  the  workroom  with  wide 
open  eyes,  and  announced  breathlessly,  'Sir  Walter 
Raleigh's  clothes  ain't  there — and  the  Queen's  ain't 
nother — somebody  stole  'em!'  These  precious  garments 
which  meant  so  much  to  the  children  were  made  of 
home-grown  materials.  The  Queen's  ermine  grew  in 
the  southern  cotton  fields.  The  material  used  for  her 
robe  was  unbleached  muslin  which  when  dyed  in  ordinary 
cotton  dyes  makes  a  beautiful  piece  of  brocade  under 
lights.  The  brilliant  suits  worn  by  the  knights  and 
other  figures  in  the  courts  were  obtained  in  the  same 
manner.  Cotton  gauze  at  five  cents  a  yard  dyed  in 
various  colors,  makes  wonderful  draperies  and  scarfs. 
We   also    ransacked    the    attics    of    the   city    and    got    a 

[  Sixty-eight  ] 


wealth  of  brocade,  cretonnes  and  scraps  of  silks  for 
stomachers.  Cheap  burlap  and  linoleum  can  be  used  to 
excellent  advantage  for  heav}-^  mantles.  Stiff  bits  of 
armor  can  be  fashioned  from  unbleached  homspun  cut 
into  shai)e,  on  which  is  glued  manila  paper.  With  the 
magic  of  silver  radiator  paint,  we  were  able  to  make  a 
hundred  shining  plates  of  Elizabethan  armor  in  this  way. 
Cheap  cotton  flannel  tie-dyed  into  crude  designs,  is  the 
most  picturesque  thing  to  use  for  Indian  dresses. 

"In  addition  to  these  materials,  we  were  able  to  get 
the  merchants  of  the  department  stores  to  give  us 
old  velvet  hats  and  slightly  faded  window  drapes.  In 
this  way  we  acquired  enough  Elizabethan  hats  and  yards 
of  satin  and  velvet  for  richer  clothes  when  desired.  We 
did  not  spend  fifty  dollars  out  of  the  community,  though 
the  cast  numbered  nearly  a  thousand. 

"If  there  is  difficulty  in  convincing  the  Costume  Com- 
mittee that  this  is  the  best  way  to  attack  the  problem  of 
securing  costumes  for  a  large  cast  it  will  be  w^ell  for  the 
director  to  get  together  a  few  people  who  will  make  and 
dye  some  costumes  as  a  demonstration.  Invite  the  rest  of 
the  people  to  see  them  and  the  trick  is  done,  the  town 
will   follow. 

"In  one  particular  state  in  the  South  as  an  aftermath 
of  a  pageant  workshop,  a  woman  has  established  for 
herself  an  art  and  craft  shop,  and  makes  an  excellent 
living.  From  other  towns  the  reports  come  that  from 
the  efforts  in  stenciling  and  dyeing  of  materials  in  the 
pageant  workshop  a  woman  became  an  interior  decorator. 
In  addition  to  the  costumes  such  properties  as  swords, 
crowns  and  spears  can  also  be  made  and  designed  in 
the  workshop." 

The  Community  Theatre 

Where  the  community  drama  movement  is  sufficiently 
advanced,  funds  are  available  and  there  is  a  strong 
desire  for  it,  a  community  theatre  may  be  erected. 

[  Sixty-nine  ] 


A  community  theatre  will  automatically  become  the 
focusing  point  of  the  art  activities  of  the  city  or  town, 
the  rural  district  or  the  whole  county.  Here  the  best 
plays  will  be  rehearsed  and  staged ;  here  special  pageants 
and  festivals  will  be  planned  for;  here  the  arrangements 
for  an  outdoor  theatre  or  roaming  theatre  can  be 
formulated.  It  will  be  the  focusing  point  for  lectures 
on  the  theatre,  for  consultations  on  civic,  school,  church 
or  industrial  dramatics.  Here  will  be  kept  on  file 
information  pertaining  to  plays,  costumes,  lighting  and 
lists  of  suitable  dramatic  material.  The  most  gifted 
people  of  the  community  will  be  more  interested  to  offer 
their  time  and  services  when  they  know  there  is  a 
definite  center. 


Community    Theatre   Construction 

The  community  theatre  may  be  specially  built  or  may 
be  remodeled  from  some  other  building.  Splendidly 
adequate  existing  community  theatres  have  been  made 
from  disused  chapels,  churches,  town  halls,  stores, 
saloons,  library  buildings  and  even  bottling  establish- 
ments. One  community  in  New  Hampshire  has  a  little 
community  theatre  constructed  from  a  town  hall.  An 
adequate  lighting  system  has  been  installed ;  there  are 
dressing  rooms  for  men  and  women;  the  auditorium 
has  been  painted  forest  green  and  white.  The  frame 
of  the  stage  is  formed  of  a  wooden  lattice  painted  in 
soft  green  which  gives  a  rustic  note  to  the  interior. 
The  one  deep  note  of  color  in  the  auditorium  is  the 
proscenium  curtain  of  ruby  velour.  The  theatre  is 
equipped  with  three  scenes :  a  plain  kitchen-like  interior 
that  adapts  to  many  uses ;  a  drawing  room  whose  walls 
are  plain  and  neutrally  tinted  and  a  woodland  scene 
of  great  beauty  which  could  be  used  for  a  play  re- 
quiring a  forest  setting. 

[  Seventy  ] 


Size.  The  auditorium  of  the  Httle  community 
theatre  should  seat  about  400.  Many  existing  com- 
munity theatres,  however,  seat  from  150  to  500.  It 
must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  seating  capacity  of  the 
auditorium  must  coincide  with  the  budget  system.  Care 
must  be  taken  to  see  that  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ing does  not  conflict  with  fire  laws.  An  architect  will 
naturally  have  to  be  consulted  as  to  light  lines  and 
dimensions. 

A  community  theatre  stage  of  "professional  size" 
should  have  a  30  foot  proscenium  opening,  on  either 
side  of  which  there  should  be  at  least  10  feet  for  the 
placing  of  lamps  and  the  setting  of  scenes.  The  stage 
should,  if  possible,  be  50  feet  wide  from  wall  to  wall. 
Existing  little  theatres  that  are  serving  their  purpose 
successfully  show  figures  about  as  follows:  extreme 
stage  width  40  to  50  feet;  proscenium  opening  25  feet; 
stage  depth  25  to  30  feet.  A  stage  only  as  wide  as 
the  proscenium  opening  is  practically  useless  for  dram- 
atic productions. 

Maurice  Browne,  of  the  Chicago  Little  Theatre,  has 
declared  that  the  minimum  size  of  the  stage  of  a  little 
community  theatre  should  be  the  following:  "It  must 
have  a  stage  raised  not  less  than  24  inches  from 
the  floor  measuring  not  less  than  24  feet  wide,  25  feet 
deep  and  14  feet  high  with  a  proscenium  opening  not  less 
than  20  or  22  feet  wide.  The  space  included  in  these 
measurements  must  be  entirely  free  from  all  obstruc- 
tions. There  must  be  at  least  two  dressing  rooms  ad- 
jacent to  the  stage.  These  must  be  adequately  ventilated, 
lighted  and  heated,  and  supplied  with  water.  The  stage 
must  be  provided  with  an  electric  feed  wire  carrying 
110  volts,  capable  of  being  tapped  and  having  either 
direct  or  indirect  current." 

Decoration.  Needless  to  say,  the  decoration  of  any 
community  theatre  should  not  be  garish,  but  restful  to 

[  Seventy-one  ] 


the  eye.  Hunter's  green  and  cream  color  make  a  very 
popular  combination  for  the  interior  colors  of  little 
theatres,  as  do  brown  and  cream  or  a  deep  blue  and 
fumed  oak. 

Organisation 

The  Budget.  There  must  be  a  budget  system  that  is 
practical  for  the  equipping  and  maintaining  of  the  com- 
munity theatre.  The  first  requisite  is  the  working  out 
of  a  budget  system  which  must  be  so  planned  that  it 
will  cover  expenses  and  have  thirty  per  cent  over  to 
meet  unexpected  contingencies.  This  can  be  done  only 
by  having  a  subscription  system  worked  out  on  the 
basis  of  the  "coupon  ticket"  system  or  "season  ticket" 
system,  as  it  is  now  being  called  in  some  community 
theatres.  Through  this  system  tickets  are  bought  for 
the  entire  course  of  performances. 

Membership.  Every  community  theatre  should  have 
a  large  working  membership.  Some  people  erroneously 
suppose  that  the  players  and  scene  designers  are  the 
only  people  who  have  a  part  in  the  community  theatre. 
But  there  are  many  other  ways  in  which  the  various 
talents  of  the  community  can  be  used.  There  is  publicity 
to  be  seen  to ;  there  are  tickets  to  be  printed,  posters 
to  be  displayed.  There  are  problems  of  cleaning,  lighting 
and  constant  renovation  to  be  solved.  There  is  play- 
reading  to  be  done,  and  reports  on  the  newest  books 
on  drama  to  be  made.  There  are  materials  to  be  dyed 
and  redyed  and  bolts  of  cloth  to  be  bought  wholesale. 
There  is  often  a  house  to  house  canvass  for  properties. 
There  is  a  continual  search  for  every  available  thing 
connected  with  the  theatre.  There  are  volunteer  musi- 
cians to  be  sought  out.  There  are  people  qualified  for 
giving  advice  to  the  various  groups  who  come  to  them 
for  suggestions  on  civic  festivals,  Christmas  plays  or 
Hallowe'en    celebrations    and    the    like.      There    is    any 

{Se%)enty-two  ] 


amount  of  material  to  be  digested  and  filed.     There  is 
something  for  everyone  to  do. 

One  well-known  community  theatre  makes  use  of 
three  bulletin  boards.  On  the  first  bulletin  board  is 
everything  connected  with  the  theatre  itself;  on  the 
second  bulletin  board  is  everything  of  local  interest 
whether  in  the  professional  theatre  or  in  the  schools 
or  churches,  and  on  the  third  bulletin  board  there  are  all 
the  announcements  connected  with  a  Children's  Theatre 
which  forms  a  junior  portion  of  the  Community  Theatre 

The  Community  Players  of  Boston  established  a 
method  by  which  its  audiences  were  divided  into  two 
groups — one,  the  regular  audience  groups,  and  the  as- 
sociate members ;  the  other  a  working  membership  who 
could  be  called  upon  at  any  moment.  Membership  for 
each  of  these  groups  was  $1.00  a  year.  The  member- 
ship card  presented  at  the  box  office  entitled  the  bearer 
to  purchase  seats  at  $1.00  or  7Sc  or  50c  according  to 
the  location  of  the  seat.  Community  theatres  should 
be  financed  on  a  subscription  basis. 

Players.  There  should  be  a  large  number  of  players 
connected  with  the  theatre,  of  whom  there  will  probably 
be  one  chief  active  group.  But  there  may  be  other 
players  who  can  be  called  on  at  a  moment's  notice  to 
act  as  supernumeraries.  In  many  theatres  it  is  managed 
so  that  the  volunteer  stage  hands  of  one  performance 
play  prominent  parts  in  the  next  performance.  Rotation 
of  work  is  often  greatly  to  be  desired.  In  other  words 
there  may  be  a  chief  player  group,  and  an  apprentice 
player  group. 

Training  Apprentice  Groups.  There  are  so  many  ex- 
cellent books  on  directing  and  acting  that  no  full  account 
of  the  methods  of  procedure  need  be  given  here.  The 
dramatic  director  is  referred  to  the  bibliography.  In 
some  of  the  most  forward-looking  community  theatres, 

[  Seventy-three  ] 


and  in  dramatic  clubs,  apprentice  groups  are  being 
trained  by  a  progressive  course  which  runs  through 
tableau;  pantomime;  dance  (as  at  the  Neighborhood 
Playhouse,  New  York)  and  through  one-act  plays  to 
longer  plays. 

These  players  must  take  their  work  seriously.  They 
must  regard  themselves  as  under  contract  to  the  theatre. 

Rehearsals.  Rehearsals  will  probably  fall  on  definitely 
selected  nights,  and  notice  regarding  them  will  be  kept 
continually  on  the  community  theatre  bulletin  board. 
Failure  to  attend  rehearsals  cannot  be  too  severely 
censured.  No  director  can  ever  hope  for  a  finished 
performance  unless  he  can  depend  on  the  players  keeping 
their  rehearsal  dates.  This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
things  with  which  the  director  of  a  community  theatre 
has  to  contend.  Where  two  groups  of  players  are  used, 
a  chief  group  of  players  and  an  apprentice  group  of 
players,  someone  from  the  apprentice  group  of  players 
can  step  in  and  take  a  chief  player's  part  if  that  player 
is  too  frequently  absent  from  rehearsals.  Here  again 
the  players  should  feel  themselves  bound  as  if  by  con- 
tract to  give  the  best  work  that  is  in  them  to  the 
community  theatre  and  to  attend  its  rehearsals 
faithfully. 

The  Program.  In  order  to  coincide  with  the  budget, 
the  year's  work  should  be  mapped  out  in  advance  by  the 
director  and  the  Community  Theatre  Committee,  every 
known  resource  being  utilized.  This  Committee  must 
also  decide  on  the  financial  and  artistic  policy  of  the 
Community  Theatre. 

Cost  of  Equipment.  The  Provincetown  Players  of 
New  York  City,  at  an  expense  of  $2,000  have  remade 
an  old  bottling  establishment  into  a  theatre.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  this  sum  does  not  include  scenery 
or    salaries    or    rent,    but    it    does    include    cleaning    and 

[  Seventy-  four  ] 


renovating  the  bottling  establishment,  building  a  stage, 
installing  plumbing  and  lighting,  including  a  switch- 
bo.ard,  putting  in  a  slanting  floor  and  adding  several 
rows  of  bench  seats  to  some  which  were  already 
owned.  All  this  was  made  possible  because  it  was  done 
under  expert  direction. 

The  Community  Theatre  Staff.  The  community 
theatre  staff  may  consist  of  the  Community  Theatre 
Committee  already  alluded  to ,  and  the  community 
theater  director.  There  must  be-  but  one  director. 
"Too  many  cooks  spoil  the  broth."  Under  this  chief 
director  there  may  be  three  or  four  other  subdirectors. 
Where  an  evening  of  one-act  plays  is  given  each  play 
may  be  in  the  hands  of  an  assistant  director. 

It  cannot  be  urged  too  strongly  that  the  community 
theatre  director  •  be  an  expert,  engaged  on  a  salary 
basis.  The  community  theatres  which  have  had  the 
greatest  financial  and  artistic  success  in  this  country 
have  been  those  whose  work  has  gone  forward  under 
skilled  direction.  Under  these  conditions  the  community 
theatre  can  readily  be  self-supporting,  and  more.  It 
can  lay  by  funds  for  a  rainy  day. 

Besides  the  director,  the  community  theatre  staff 
should  consist  of  several  assistants  to  the  director,  a 
business  manager :  a  treasurer ;  a  house  manager ;  a 
chief  electrician  (paid  or  volunteer)  ;  a  scenic  director; 
a  costume  director ;  a  music  director :  a  head  play  reader 
and  a  press  agent.  These  should  be  the  most  gifted 
people  in  their  several  lines  whom  the  community  has. 
Working  with  these  should  be  a  Community  Theatre 
Committee  and  a  number  of  sub-committees,  as  stated 
previously. 

The  Community  Theatre  Committee.  The  work  of 
the  Committee  will  be  to  help  with  the  management  of 
the    community    theatre    and    to    give    artistic    aid    and 

\  Seventy-  five  ] 


consultation  to  outside  groups  who  are  not  connected 
with  the  community  theatre  but  who  may  form  part  of 
the  community  theatre  audience,  such  as  church 
groups,  settlement  groups,  public  schools  and  playground 
groups. 

The  leading  community  theatres  of  this  country 
always  give  aid  to  such  groups,  and .  are  amply  repaid 
by  the  public  interest  aroused.  It  keeps  a  live  audience 
in  the  community  theatre.  The  groups  who  have 
received  help  come  to  the  community  theatre  to  see 
the  performances  and  learn. 

Personnel.  As  a  rule  the  director  is  the  one  person  in 
the  community  theatre  who  receives  a  salary.  All  the 
rest  of  the  work  is  done  by  volunteer  players,  musicians, 
stage  hands,   artists,   designers   and  ushers. 

Number  of  Performances.  A  community  theatre 
may  give  performances  every  Friday  and  Saturday,  or 
it  may  give  them  the  Friday  and  Saturday  of  alternate 
weeks.  Some  community  theatres  give  a  one  week's 
performance  during  a  month.  It  all  depends  on  how  the 
schedule  can  be  arranged.  Where  there  is  a  Children's 
or  Young  People's  Theatre  run  in  connection  with  the 
community  theatre,  the  Young  People's  Theatre  may 
have  performances  every  fortnight,  alternating  with 
the  adult  productions. 

The  Goal  of  the  Community  Theatre 

As  has  been  said,  for  focusing  the  art  life  of  a 
community,  and  for  giving  enjoyment  to  a  community, 
there  is  probably  nothing  which  exerts  a  greater  power 
than  a  community  theatre.  It  brings  together  into  a 
happy  relationship  all  those  interested  in  art,  in  music, 
in  decoration,  in  literature,  acting  and  music.  The 
people  who  practice  these  arts  in  turn  can  give  delight 
to   their  fellow  citizens  . 

There  are  over  200  little  community  theatres  or  groups 

[  Seventy-  six  ] 


working  toward  community  theatres  in  the  United 
States.  Pageants  may  become  wearisome  if  too  many 
of  them  are  given  during  a  season ;  but  the  interest  in 
plays  is  a  quenchless  interest.  Moreover,  as  has  been 
shown,  plays  may  be  inexpensively  produced,  whether 
requiring  either  a  large  or  small  cast. 


[  Sevenly-seve .  \ 


CHAPTER  VII 

EDUCATIONAL  DRAMATICS  AND  CHILDREN'S 

THEATRES 

Importance   of   Educational    Dramatics 

Educational  dramatics  for  children  are  of  fundamental 
importance.  The  dramatic  instinct  of  the  child  is  very 
near  the  surface — is  very  free.  To  foster  this  instinct, 
to  provide  the  child  with  a  means  for  self  expression 
which  will  not  stifle  spontaneity  nor  thwart  personality 
but  will  stimulate  the  imagination  and  develop  inner 
resources — this  is  vital  and  far-reaching. 

Many  experts  believe  that  in  taking  up  the  problem 
of  community  drama  organization  it  may  be  best  to 
begin  with  children's  and  young  people's  dramatics, 
making  such  dramatics  a  stepping  stone  to  adult  dram- 
atics. In  many  cases  this  will  be  found  to  be  an 
excellent  method  of  procedure.  In  a  community  where 
the  power  of  drama  is  to  be  made  a  permanent  thing, 
the  plays  provided  for  and  acted  in  by  young  people  are 
an  important  consideration.  In  country  schools  or  city 
schools,  in  churches,  clubs,  settlements,  on  playgrounds, 
in  connection  with  street  play  or  on  recreation  piers, 
there  is  an  ever-growing  field  where  the  dramatic 
worker  who  can  bring  practical  help,  who  can  offer 
creative  leadership,  is  eagerly  welcomed. 

Knowing  the  Field 

In  the  field  of  children's  dramatics  as  in  th,e  entire 
field  of  community  drama  it  is  important  for  the 
dramatic  director  to  ask  himself  certain  questions,  the 
answers  to  which  will  determine  his  method  of  pro- 
cedure. 

Such  questions  relate  to  the  use  in  the  specific  com- 
munity of  drama  for  children  in  churches,  settlements, 

[  Seventy-eight  ] 


playgrounds,  social  centers,  recreation  piers  and  clubs ; 
to  drama  in  the  schools — how  far  it  is  being  utilized 
and  what  help  can  be  given;  to  the  community  groups 
which  may  be  promoting  dramatics;  to  what  the  library 
may  be  doing  in  storytelling  and  storyplaying  and  how 
much  information  on  the  subject  is  available  through 
the  library  shelves;  to  the  extent  to  which  children's 
festivals  are  being  given;  to  the  situation  regarding 
the  special  children's  films  in  the  moving  pictures  and 
similar  questions  which  will  show  what  is  being  done 
and  what  should  be  undertaken. 

The    Educational    Dramatic    Method 

The  educational  dramatic  method  as  applied  to  chil- 
dren's dramatics  is  based  upon  the  director's  ability 
to  draw  out  the  creative  and  spontaneous  expression 
of  the  child.  "Before  lines  are  memorized,"  says  Helen 
Ford,  the  well-known  exponent  of  educational  dram- 
atics, "It  is  of  supreme  importance  that  the  imagination 
of  the  pfayer  should  be  stimulated  by  a  complete  under- 
standing and  intense  realization  of  the  idea.  If  the 
imagination  is  fired  sufficiently,  the  voice  of  the  body 
automatically  responds  and  an  amateur  player  without 
technique  may  attain  artistic,  inspired  dramatic  por- 
trayal. Approached  in  this  way  amateur  dramatic 
presentations  can  be  truly  educational  and  creatively 
recreational." 

It  is  to  secure  this  "complete  understanding  and  in- 
tense realization  of  the  idea,"  and  the  "firing  of  the 
imagination"  that  the  educational  dramatic  method  has 
come  into  being. 

Story   Playing 

Story  playing  or  spontaneous  dramatization,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  is  the  simplest  form  of  educational 
dramatics  and  demonstrates  the  educational  dramatic 
method    as    it    is    now    generally    used.      The    dramatic 

[  Seventy-nine  ] 


director  reads  the  story  through  as  dramatically  as 
possible,  driving  the  thought  home  to  the  child  as  force- 
fully as  it  can  be  done.  Then  the  children  act  it  out 
themselves  while  the  director  listens  sympathetically  and 
helps  with  her  suggestions.  "Better,  far  better,"  says 
one  director,  "is  a  crude  presentation  of  something  that 
is  understood  to  the  root  by  the  smail  player  and  is 
real  to  him,  than  the  over  trained  'beautiful  crimes'  we 
often  see." 

After  the  first  spontaneous  acting  of  a  story  sugges- 
tions may  be  asked  for  from  the  audience.  The  second 
time  the  story  is  played  a  new  set  of  children  should 
be  used  and  the  group  who  have  just  played  should 
become  the  audience.  Several  excellent  books  on  the 
story  playing  method  are  available  for  the  dramatic 
director.  A  list  of  them  will  be  found  in  the 
Bibliography. 

Material  for  Story  Playing.  The  best  type  of  story 
playing  for  children  is  that  which  has  simple,  coherent 
action  moving  toward  a  climax.  Examples  of  such 
stories  are  Red  Riding  Hood,  Cicily  and  the  Bears  and 
similar  stories.  "The  old  fairy  tales,"  says  one  director 
of  long  experience  "have  a  perennial  appeal.  They  lend 
themselves  easily  to  dramatization  and  are  a  constant 
delight  to  children."  A  warning  is  sounded  by  this 
director  against  the  "goody-goody"  story  or  play. 

A  few  of  the  stories  found  particularly  good  for 
simple  story  playing,  the  children  speaking  such  words 
as  occur  to  them,  are : 

Cinderella  Eleven  Wild  Swans 

Sleeping  Beauty  Red  Shoes 

Hansel  and   Gretel  The   Cat  and   the   Parrot 

Jack  and   the  Bean  Stalk  The  Golden  Goose 

Snow  White  King  Arthur  and  Excalibur 

Elves  and  the  Shoemaker  The  Hole  in  the  Dike 

[  Eighty  ] 


The  Play 

Practically  the  same  method  as  is  used  in  story  play- 
ing is  applied  to  play  producing.  The  play  is  read 
through  by  the  director,  the  characters  are  then  assigned, 
the  stage  is  set  with  the  fewest  possible  accessories  and 
the  rehearsal  begins.  The  body  and  mind  must  express 
the  thought  at  the  same  time.  The  intellectual  grasp 
of  itself  will  never  produce  dramatic  expression.  Intel- 
lectual thought  must  be  sifted  through  emotion  before 
it  becomes  dramatic  expression  which  is  the  blending 
of  the  intelligence  and  the  emotion. 

It  very  often  occurs  that  after  the  children  have  been 
through  their  parts  several  time,  readjustments  will  be 
found  necessary.  'After  the  play  has  been  rehearsed 
many  times  with  the  book  the  players  will  begin  to 
memorize  their  parts. 

This  method  of  play  producing  is  not  confined  to 
children  but  applies  to  adults  and  is  in  general  use 
for  all  forms  of  educational  play  production. 

The   Children's  Theatre 

Children's  Theatres  may  be  divided  into  two  groups^ 
those  which  are  beneficial  and  those  which  are  not 
beneficial.  As  a  children's  theatre  beneficial  in  its 
results  may  be  mentioned  the  Children's  Theatre  of 
Hull  House,  Chicago.  Great  benefit  can  be  derived 
from  a  Children's  Theatre  if  it  is  situated  in  the  heart 
of  a  city  where  children  have  only  the  city  streets  as 
a  playground.  There  they  need  something  which  will 
open  the  doors  of  the  imagination  and  which  will  provide 
them  with  something  better  than  crass  movies.  Several 
educational  experts  have  said  that  a  children's  theatre 
with  child  plays  offers  too  great  a  stimulus  for  young 
people.  Rut  in  crowded  tenement  districts  where  life 
is  incessantly  over-stimulated  the  children's  theatre 
counteracts  many  of  the  unfortunate  influences  of  life 

[  Eighty-one  ] 


in    congested    districts.      The    Neighborhood    Playhouse 
groups  in  New  York  City  are  proof  of  this. 

Among  children's  theatres  which  are  not  beneficial 
may  be  cited  those  which  in  some  cities  are  run  for 
profit,  exploiting  the  child  players,  inbuing  them  with 
self-consciousness  to  the  point  of  arrogance.  Such 
theatres  cannot  be  too  severely  condemned.  It  is  need- 
fess  to  say  that  these  theatres  do  not  employ  the  educa- 
tional dramatic  method,  for  this  method  works  for  the 
good  of  the  individual  as  well  as  for  the  good  of 
the  whole, 

,It  has  been  suggested  that  one  way  in  which  a  chil- 
dren's or  young  people's  theatre  may  be  of  great  ad- 
vantage to  any  community  is  through  the  founding  of  a 
theatre  conducted  by  and  played  in  by  adults  for  the 
benefit  of  the  children  of  the  community.  Here  small- 
sized  adults  take  the  part  of  children  just  as  they  did  in 
the  professional  production  of  such  plays  as  Maeter- 
linck's Blue  Bird,  or  Snow  White.  By  this  means  really 
beautiful  plays  can  be  presented  to  the  children  of  a 
community.  It  may  be  possible  to  have  such  a  theatre 
as  an  adjunct  to  a  community  theatre  with  matinees 
given  on  alternate  Saturdays.  It  can  be  financed  as  a 
community  theatre  is  financed,  on  the  subscription  basis, 
and  used  in  connection  with  the  schools,  civic  centers 
and  settlements. 

What   One   Children's  Theatre  is  Doing 

An  interesting  example  of  a  children's  theatre  is 
Everybody's  Playhouse  of  Baltimore  which  is  financed 
by  the  city  through  the  Children's  Playground  Associa- 
tion of  Baltimore.  All  the  members  of  the  staff  are 
paid  workers  but  many  volunteers  are  utilized,  each 
member  of  the  staff  orgainizing  a  group  of  volunteers 
to  serve  with  her. 

A  new  play  is  produced  each  month,  the  play  being 
repeated     every     Saturday    afternoon     throughout     the 

[  Eighty-lu'o  ] 


month.  In  preparing  for  the  play  the  director  or  her 
assistants  go  to  the  different  districts  of  the  city  from 
which  the  children  come,  rehearsing  separate  sections 
of  the  play  in  the  various  districts.  The  members  of 
the  cast,  which  is  composed  of  children  with  some 
adults  are  brought  together  for  a  rehearsal  of  the  whole 
play  only  the  last  three  rehearsals.  For  the  rehearsals, 
all  of  which  are  held  in  the  day  time,  use  is  made  of 
the  community  house,  churches,  public  schools  and  other 
meeting  places.  There  is  a  definite  sewing  place  where 
the  costumes  are  made. 

There  is  a  portable  stage  for  the  theatre  and  draped 
interior  and  screens.  On. one  side  the  screens  are  pale 
tan,  the  other  side  being  darker.  The  plan  on  which 
the  theatre  is  arranged  makes  it  possible  for  the  cos- 
tumes and  properties,  the  switchboard,  the  set  of  screens 
and  cyclorama  to  be  taken  wherever  desired.  Seats  are 
not  reserved  and  the  charge  for  admission  is  five  or 
ten  cents.  The  tickets  are  sold  in  the  public  schools 
through  the  teachers  and  they  are  the  only  tickets  that 
are  allowed  to  be  sold  in  the  public  schools  in  Baltimore. 

Plays  for  Children's  Theatres 

The  choice  of  plays  is  a  very  important  consideration 
in  conducting  children's  theatres.  Danger  lies  in  giving 
children  things  which  are  really  for  adults.  Such  plays 
as  are  produced  must  keep  the  children  in  their  own 
world  and  must  be  natural  for  them. 

Among  the  plays  produced  by  Everybody's  Playhouse 
in  Baltimore  are : 

Mother  Nature's  Garden — a  festival 

The  Seven  Gifts — Stuart  Walker 

On  Christmas  Eve — Constance  D.  Mackay 

The   Dragon — Lady    Gregory 

Sara  Crezve — Frances  Burnett 

I  Eighty-three  ] 


Rose  of  the  Ring;  Rip   Van  Winkle — Marionettes 

The  Tinkclman — La  Payne 

Nevertheless — Stuart  Walker 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream — Arranged  by  Helen 
Knight  and  Adele  Gutman  Nathan 

Some  of  the  plays  given  in  the  Hull  House  Children's 
Theatre  have  included : 

The  Piper,  by  Josephine  Preston  Peabody 

Prunella,  by  Housman  and  Barker 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream;  Twelfth  Night,  by 
Shakespeare 

We  are  Loved,  by  Leo  Tolstoy 

The  Christmas  Guest;  Nimble  Wit  and  Fingerkin: 
The  Goose  Herd  and  the  Goblin,  by  Constance  D'Arcy 
Mackay 

The  Sleeping  Beauty;  The  Frog  Prince;  The  Golden 
Goose;  The  Bird  with  a  broken  Wing.  Dramatized  by 
the   residents   of   Hull   House 

Some  of  the  festivals  of  the  Neighborhood  Playhouse, 
New  York  City,  in  which  young  people  participated. 
and  in  which  young  people  formed  the  greater  part  of 
the  audience  have  been : 

Jeptha's  Daughter,  with  music  by  Lilia  Mackay- 
Cantell 

Petroushka,   with    music   by    Stravinsky 

The  Sleeping  Beauty,  with  music  by  Tchaikowsky 

The  Discontented  Daffodils;  The  Shadow  Garden  of 
Shut-Eye   Town;  with   music  by  Lilia  Mackay-Cantell 

Hiawatha,  with  traditional  Indian  music 

The  Goose  Girl,  with  music  by  Humperdinck 

[  Eighty-four  ] 


I       The  Jewel  Box,  with  music  by  Debussy 

I       Tlic  Kairn  of  Koridwen,  with   music  by   Charles  T. 

p  Griffen 

^  .  . 

[-:    The  Educational  Dramatic  League  of  Atlanta,  Georgia, 

has  produced,  among  other  plays,  the   following : 

The  Rose  and  the  Ring 

Rip  Van  Winkle 

The  Man  ivho  Married  a  Dumb  Wife 

A  Dramatisation  of  Fairy  Foot 

The  Rhinegold  Legend 

The  Sixth  Book  of  Virgil 

The  Children's  Theatre  at  Poughkeepsie,  at  Vassar 
Brothers  Institute  has  produced,  among  other  plays, 
the  following : 

Three  Pills  in  a  Bottle,  by  Rachael   Lyman  Field 

Six  Who  Pass  While  the  Lentils  Boil,  by  Stuart 
Walker 

Tne  Wolf  of  Gubbio,  by  Josephine  Preston  Peabody 

Hans  Brinker  and  the  Silver  Skates  (A  Special  Dram- 
atization) 

The  King  and  His  Temper,  by  Doris   Bullard 

The    Wonder-Seeker,   by   Mary    McKiltrick 

(See  Appendix  E  for  list  of  plays   for  children  ) 


I 


1  Eighty-five  ] 


CHAPTER  VlJl 
PAGEANTRY 

As  advancement  is  made  step  by  step  in  the  com- 
munity drama  program  many  feel  that  the  climax  is 
reached  in  the  production  of  a  community  pageant  writ- 
ten of  the  community,  for  the  community,  and  acted  by 
the  community. 

The  pageant  is  a  valuable  medium  for  bringing  to- 
gether the  people  of  a  community  for  a  common  purpose. 
It  requires  a  great  many  people,  and  people  of  all  ages 
and  all  nationalities  can  take  part.  The  organization 
itself  must  necessarily  be  large  and  democratic.  People 
coming  together  for  rehearsals  become  acquainted  in  a 
way  which  would  be  impossible  in  any  other  type  of 
rehearsal  work.  It  arouses  interest  and  pride  in  local 
history  and  traditions. 

Again  pageantry  is  an  important  Americanization 
medium,  for  through  it  may  be  presented  the  traditions 
and  idealism  of  the  country  by  means  of  pictures  in 
a  way  that  can  be  readily  understood  and  impressed 
upon  the  minds  of  those  witnessing  the  pageant.  It  gives 
opportunity  for  participation  on  the  part  of  the  foreign- 
born  and  serves  as  the  medium  through  which  they  may 
make  their  contribution  of  old  world  folk  lore,  dancing 
and  song. 

Because  of  the  value  of  the  pageant,  it  is  important 
that  its  usefulness  shall  not  be  impaired  by  tiring  a  com- 
munity with  too  many  pageants  It  is  almost  fatal  to  try 
to  give  a  second  pageant  on  top  of  one  which  has  just 
been  produced.  A  smaller  pageant  takes  away  from 
the  dignity  and  beauty  of  a  larger  pageant  and  is  an 
anti-climay. 

[  Eighty -six  ] 


Pageant  Organization 

Much  of  the  success  of  the  pageant  depends  on  its 
organization.  A  worker  who  has  had  long  experience  in 
studying  pageants  has  said  that  the  chief  requisites  to 
consider  in  planning   for  a   pageant  are  the   following: 

The  Organization  of   the   Pageant 

The  Choice  of  the  Pageant  Grounds 

Lighting 

The  Staging  of  the  Pageant 

Costumes 

Music 

Committees  suggested,  with  their  duties,  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

Grounds  Committee 

1.  To   have  complete   responsibility    for   the  pageant 
grounds. 

2.  To  put  the  grounds  in  shape. 

(a)  The  stage  should  be  leveled,  the  filled-in 
places  covered  with  sod  and  all  dangerous 
holes  in  the  ground  filled  up. 

(b)  The  stage  wings  should  "be  arranged  so 
that  the  actors  will  be  hidden  from  the 
audience  when  not  on  the  stage. 

(c)  The  trees  that  interfere  with  the  view  of 
the  stage  should  be  trimmed  and  the  stage 
and  aisles  marked  off. 

(d)  Roads  to  the  stage  should  be  made  pass- 
able for  cars  and  ample  parking  space 
provided.  If  possible,  it  is  well  to  ar- 
range a  small  loop  in  the  road  so  that 
cars  may  enter  at  one  side  of  the  grounds 
and  leave  at  the  other,  thereby  avoiding 
accidents  and  danger. 

(  Eighty-seven  ] 


(e)  Plenty  of  drinking  water  and  suitable 
toilet  facilities  for  men  and  women  should 
be  provided,  and  trash  baskets  placed  on 
the  grounds. 

3.  To  have  all  concessions  on  the  grounds,  allowing 
only  needed  and   best  concessions. 

4.  To  have  the  responsibility  of  leaving  grounds  in 
good  order,  returning  all  equipment,  removing  all 
structures  placed  upon  them  and  clearing  the 
premises  in  general. 

5.  To  arrange  for  the  seating  of  bands  and  choruses 
and  provide  necessary  signs  on  the  grounds  to 
guide  the  public. 

Ways  and  Means  Committee 

1.  To  assume  responsibility  for  devising  ways  and 
means  of  financing  the  pageant;  to  act  as  treasurer 
of  the  committee,  to  keep  complete  account  of 
money  raised  and  spent  and  to  pay  bills.  Small 
donations  should  be  encouraged  as  well  as  larger 
ones.  The,  more  the  people  give  the  more  the 
celebration  belongs  to  the  people. 

2.  To  work  in  co-operation  with  the  program  com- 
mittee; to  give  assistance  to  this  committee  by  se- 
curing advertising  which  should  more  than  pay 
the  cost  of  printing  the  programs. 

It  has  been  found  helpful  in  arranging  for  some  large 
pageants  to  have  under  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee 
a  Purchasing  Committe  which  will,  with  the  director, 
make  out  a  budget  for  all  expenditures  and  hold  each 
department  to  its  budget.  Very  often  the  purchasing 
is  all  done  by  the  committee  liut  no  purchases  can  be 
made  except  with  the  approval  of  the  committee. 

(  Eighty-eight  ] 


Dransportation   Committee 

1.  To  provide  means  of  transportation  to  and  from 
the  pageant  grounds,  arranging  for  special  trains 
to  arrive  in  the  morning  and  leave  at  a  con- 
venient hour  in  the  evening.  If  a  truck  bus  sys- 
tem is  used,  a  definite  uniform  amount  should  be 
charged  by  all  trucks  carrying  passengers. 

2.  To  develop  as  large  a  volunteer  transportation 
service  as  possible. 

3.  To  be  ready  to  furnish  transportation  for  the  cast 
in  case  there  are  some  groups  unable  to  furnish 
their  own.  This  committe  may  also  furnish  trans- 
portation for  the  choruses  and  bands. 

Cast  Committee 

1.  To  assemble  suitable  people  for  selection  by  the 
director  and  to  be  responsible  for  their  attendance 
at  rehearsals. 

It   is   suggested  that  each  committe   member  be  held 
responsible  for  assembling  a  definite  number  of  people. 

Costume  Committee 

1.  To  see  that  the  costumes  are  made  or  provided 
according  to  the  plan  of  the  director.  (It  may 
be  well  to  have  models  of  these  costumes  on 
view  so  that  they  can  be  quickly  and  easily  copied.) 

2.  To  keep  costumes  in  good  order  and  see  that  they 
are  at  each  performance. 

Publicity  Committee 

1.  To  plan  and  develop  publicity  for  the  celebration 
through   stories,   slogans,   posters. 

2.  To  have  photographs  of  grounds  taken  and  placed 
in  public  places 

f  Eighty-nine  ] 


3.  To  make  slides  announcing  the  celebration  which 
shall  be  displayed  in  each  performance  in  all 
movies. 

4.  To  suggest  posters  for  windows,  public  places, 
hotels,  and  provide  handbills  for  distribution. 

5.  To  arrange   for  newspaper  publicity. 

Program  Committee 

1.  To  arrange  for  a  program  containing  the  plans  for 
the  day,  the  synopsis  of  the  pageant  and  the  cast. 

2.  To  co-operate  with  the  finance  committee,  keeping 
them  advised,  as  to  the  progress  and  receipts  from 
advertisement. 

3.  To  arrange  for  the  proper  disposition  of  the  pro- 
grams, selling  them  at  a  nominal  sum  for  little 
more  than  the  cost  of  printing 

Music  Cotnmittee 

1.  To  attend  to  all  matters  connected  with  the  re- 
hearsal of  band  and  chorus. 

(Acoustics  have  to  be  considered) 

An  orchestra  reinforced  by  brass  can  be  used 

outdoors    but    sometimes    only    a   band    can   carry 

where  there  are  wide  spaces. 

2.  Te  secure  the  volunteer  services  of  church  choirs, 
glee  clubs,   and   community  choruses. 

Dance  Committee 

1.  To  assemble  dancers  and  help  in  securing  dancing 
teachers. 

Band  Committee 

To  secure  the  volunteer  services  of  all  the  bands  so 
that  music  will  be  furnished  at  all  times  during  the  day 

f  Ninety  ] 


and  to  arrange   for   all  bands   to  be  under  one  leader 
when  playing  national  airs  and  similar  selections. 

Stage  Committee 

1.  To  have  charge  of  all  details  in  connection  with 
the  stage,  arranging  scenery,  accommodations  in 
the  wings,  and  similar  matters. 

2.  To  assist  the  director  of  the  pageant  with  details 
in  connection  with  the  production  of  the  pageant, 
such  as  getting  the  groups  lined  up  and  on  the 
stage  at  the  proper  time. 

Policing  Committee 

1-  To  arrange  for  the  policing  of  the  grounds  and  the 
management  of  the  grounds. 

2.  To  provide  ample  information  service.  It  is  sug- 
gested that  an  information  booth  be  placed  at  the 
entrance  of  the  grounds  to  inform  people  of  the 
facilities  and  accommodations  and  to  distribute 
programs  and  information.  There  should  be  both 
men  and  women  attendants  in  the  booth. 

3.  To  provide  ushers  to  seat  the  people. 
The  Director  of  the  Pageant 

The  director  of  the  pageant  is  in  full  charge  of  all 
rehearsals.  The  direction  of  the  pageant  must  therefore 
be  in  the  hands  of  one  person  alone  whose  word  is  law 
on  all  that  pertains  to  the  production.  If  no  regular 
director  can  be  had,  then  the  most  executive  and  artistic 
person  in  the  community  must  be  chosen — preferably 
someone  with  a  keen  dramatic  sense.  Confusion  is  sure 
to  result  if  more  than  one  person  directs  the  pageant. 
Ml  arrangements  for  rehearsals  are  made  through  the 
pageant  director. 

In  rural  districts,  if  one  village  lacks  sufficient  funds 

[  Xinety-one  ] 


or  people  for  a  pageant  of  local  history,  then  a  string 
of  villages  can  combine,  each  village  producing  an 
episode  in  the  pageant  and  being  responsible  for  its 
cast,  its  costumes  and  general  fitness.  Villages  that  are 
not  financially  able  to  engage  a  pageant  artist  to  write 
and  direct  their  pageant  may  be  able  to  secure  a  beginner 
in  pageantry  to  do  so  and  a  young  teacher  of  dancing 
to  work  with  this  pageant  director.  Information  regard- 
ing sources  for  securing  the  services  of  such  people 
may  usually  be  secured  from  the  nearest  agricultural 
college. 

Subject  Matter 

The  subject  of  the  pageant  should  be  familiar.  When 
the  setting  or  theme  of  the  play  is  foreign  to  the 
performers  and  audience  the  interest  of  both  will  drag. 
History  furnishes  good  subject-matter  for  school  chil- 
dren— the  landing  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  Pocahontas, 
George  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon,  or  Surveying  in 
the  Wilderness,  and  similar  subjects.  Adults  will  per- 
haps be  most  interested  in  expressing  the  historic  and 
local  features  of  the  district  in  which  they  live.  To 
such  an  undertaking  they  are  able  to  bring  not  only 
the  true  local  color,  but  reminiscence  and  verification 
of  detail  which  will  enhance  the  value  of  the  whole 
theme.  A  pageant  of  broad  historical  efifects  has  the 
advantage  of  engaging  many  people  in  it  as  actors. 

The  rural  pageant  can  depict  from  its  earliest  begin- 
ning the  life  of  some  rural  community,  or  it  may  be 
woven  around  the  work  of  some  American  author  of 
note  or  some  musician  connected  with  the  place.  Thus 
the  pageant  of  Peterboro  was  built  upon  themes  from 
the  work  of  MacDowell.  The  history  of  a  certain 
locality  can  be  given,  such  as  the  history  of  Connecticut 
Valley,  the  Saco  Valley  or  Pembina  County  in  which 
the  life  of  a  whole  section  is  developed.     Miss  Mackay 

[  Ninety-two  ] 


points  out  that  the  rural  pageant  must  not  only  be  ac- 
curate but  it  should  give  people  pride  in  farming — in 
the  work  of  their  hands.  It  should  be  deeply  and 
genuinely  poetic  and  bring  pictures  of  lasting  beauty 
to  the  community. 

The  masque  as  well  as  the  pageant  has  great  com- 
munal possibilities.  Festivals  at  country  fairs  have  their 
community  values.  Amenia,  New  York,  has  made  the 
producing  of  simple  festivals  an  integral  part  of  its 
life,  uniting  six  or  seven  villages  in  the  production  of 
Hiawatha.  (See  Appendix  F  for  lists  of  pageants  and 
masques.) 

The  Choke  of  the  Pageant  Grounds 

If  possible,  choose  for  the  pageant  grounds  a  flat 
grassy  space  at  least  150  feet  long  and  50  feet  wide,  with 
trees  at  the  back  and  at  each  side.  An  outdoor  amphi- 
theatre is,  of  course,  best  of  all  if  it  can  be  had.  If 
these  conditions  cannot  be  met,  then  choose  the  best 
available  ground,  and  make  the  most  of  its  good  points. 
Trees  are  particularly  necessary  as  they  form  screens 
for  the  pageant  stage.  If  there  are  no  trees  naturally 
growing  there  then  tree  screens  should  be  arranged. 
These  tree  screens  can  be  made  by  fastening  chicken 
wire  to  posts  at  least  seven  feet  high  painted  dark  green. 
Into  the  chicken  wire  are  woven  vines  and  branches.  In 
front  of  these  wire  screens  pine  trees  may  be  placed. 
It  absolutely  ruins  a  pageant  if  zifhat  goes  on  behind 
the  scenes  is  visible  to  the  audience.  See  that  these  tree 
screens  are  arranged  for  the  pageant  stage  so  that  the 
players  behind  them  are  not  visible  to  the  audience. 
Dressing  rooms  may  be  used,  set  far  behind  these 
screens,  but  as  a  rule  it  will  be  better  to  have  the 
pageant  players  dress  at  home.  It  may  be  reiterated  that 
if  a  pageant  ground  can  be  had  which  has  actual  trees 
in  the  background  it  would  be  well  to  take  advantage 
of  it. 

[iXinety-lhrec  ] 


Lighting 

Where  the  pageant  is  given  at  night,  and  where 
elaborate  lighting  cannot  be  had,  the  light  must  come 
from  strings  of  electric  lights,  strung  along  the  outlines 
of  the  stage.  These  lights  should  be  "masked"  or  covered 
on  the  audience  side  so  that  the  light  may  be  focused 
directly  on  the  stage.  A  few  arc  lights  should  be  placed 
in  the  center  of  the  stage,  and  if  some  spotlights  can 
be  borrowed  from  a  local  theatre  the  effect  will  be 
much  helped.  Care  should  be  taken  throughout  in  the 
pageant  that  the  cues  for  lighting  are  taken  up  promptly, 
as  much  of  the  artistic  effect  of  a  pageant  given  at 
night  depends  on  that. 
Rehearsals  and  Stage  Directions 

In  planning  for  a  pageant  it  is  suggested  that  in  order 
that  interest  shall  not  dag  rehearsals  shall  begin  not  too 
far  ahead  of  the  production  and  shall  continue  rather 
steadily  until  the  dress  rehearsal.  They  will  occupy  at 
least  a  month  and  in  fine  weather  should  take  place 
out-of-doors. 

It  is  well  to  rehearse  on  the  actual  pageant  grounds 
as  much  as  possible.  If  the  weather  is  inclement  some 
of  the  rehearsals  may  take  place  indoors,  but  there 
must  be  plenty  of  space.  If  people  huddle  into  too 
small  a  space  at  indoor  rehearsals  they  will  tend  to 
huddle  in  the  outdoor  rehearsals.  As  good  a  way  as 
any  to  prevent  this  is  to  have  all  the  pla3^ers  walk  over 
the  pageant  grounds  at  the  very  beginning  so  that  they 
will  have  an  idea  of  its  size. 

Be  sure  that  the  pageant  players  have  plenty  of  space 
between  them  when  they  act.  See  that  in  their  dances 
the  sprites,  elves  or  children  spread  out  over  the  pageant 
grounds  so  as  to  give  a  sense  of  lightness  and  freedom. 
There  should  be  space,  too,  in  the  posing  and  assembling 
of  the  pageant  pictures.  Do  not  leave  anything  to 
chance.     Begin   from  the  first  to  rehearse  each  episode 

[  Ninety-four  ] 


exactly  as  it  is  going  to  be  so  that  the  grouping  will 
be  good. 

In  scenes  where  no  words  are  spoken  a  series  of  ges- 
ture cues  can  be  decided  upon  that  will  be  signals  for 
pageant  players,  orchestra  or  band,  such  as  the  lifting  of 
an  arm  or  the  turning  of  one  of  the  players  and 
similar  gestures.  >^ 

Costumes 

In  the  designing  and  making  of  costumes  lies  an 
opportunity  for  utilizing  the  community  values  of  the 
pageant.  In  rural  districts,  particularly,  the  attics  of 
the  homes  of  the  older  residents  will  produce  many 
period  costumes.  Symbolic  costumes  are  often  prettiest 
when  made  of  cheap  light-weight  material  and  the 
person  with  any  experience  in  using  inexpensive  dyes 
and  with  an  artistic  sense  may  devise  the  colorings  for 
almost  any  creation.  For  making  costumes  other  than 
those  borrowed  from  attics,  the  simplest  material  can 
be  used,  such  as  cheesecloth,  cotton  crepe,  cotton  poplin, 
canton  flannel,  silkaleen,  cheap  cretonne  and  burlap. 
A  practical  costume  book  should  be  consulted  in  work- 
ing out  costumes.  When  a  whole  district  or  county  is 
taking  part  in  a  pageant  it  may  be  found  advisable  to 
have  a  costume  committee  go  from  village  to  village 
making  lists  of  what  can  be  had  in  costumes  already 
available. 

Do  not  be  afraid  of  bright  colors  in  pageantry;  holly 
red,  mistletoe  green,  yellow,  orange,  vivid  blue,  cloth  of 
silver  and  gold,  purple  and  bronze  can  be  used  effec- 
tively. Be  very  careful  of  the  use  of  pink.  It  kills 
most  colors  in  connection  with  it. 

Specially  made  pageant  costumes  and  specially  made 
properties  must  be  saved.  They  form  a  nucleus  of 
material  for  the  community  theatre  or  outdoor  theatre. 
They  should  be  carefully  packed  away  ^x\i  labeled  until 
they  are  needed  again. 

[  Ninety-five  ] 


.  Note. — Pictures  of  pageant  costumes  are  to  be  found 
in  costume  books  and  books  on  pageantry.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  Community  Drama  by  Mary 
Porter  Beagle  and  Jack  Randall  Crawford,  published  by 
Yale  University  Press,  New  Haven,  Conn.,  price  $2.00. 
Symbolic  costumes  may  be  found  in  this.  Indian, 
colonial  and  pilgrim  costumes  can  be  found  in  Plays 
of  the  Pioneers  by  C.  D.  Mackay,  published  by  Harper 
Brothers,  Franklin  Square,  New  York  City,  at  $1.00. 
There  are  pictures  of  pageant  groupings  to  be  found  in 
this.  American  Pageantry  by  Ralph  Davol,  published 
by  Ralph  Davol  at  Taunton,  Mass.,  at  $2.00  has  pictures 
of  most  of  the  periods  of  American  history.  Costume:, 
and  Scenery  for  Amateurs  by  C.  D.  Mackay,  published 
by  Henry  Holt  and  Company,  19  West  44th  Street, 
New  York  City,  at  $2.00,  has  pictures  of  all  periods  of 
costuming  and  suggestions  where  patterns  may  be  had 
for  same. 

Expense 

It  is  impossible  to  give  definite  suggestions  regarding 
the  expenses  involved  in  producing  a  pageant  because 
of  the  elaborateness  of  the  productions  in  many  com- 
munities. It  is  estimated  by  one  pageant  expert,  how- 
ever, that  by  utilizing  what  people  have,  and  by  working 
on  a  strictly  economical  basis  from  $300  to  $500  will 
be  sufficient  for  the  staging  of  a  simple  country 
pageant.  A  source  of  income  lies  in  selling  programs 
for  which  a  charge  of  from  10c  to  25c  is  made ;  pageant 
books  may  be  sold  at  a  price  varying  from  25c  to  50c. 
It  is  manifestly  better  to  have  a  large  enthusiastic  at- 
tendance at  50c  than  a  sparse  attendance  at  $1.  Usually 
a  pageant  to  be  a  financial  success  should  be  given  on 
three  consecutive  afternoons,  one  of  these  afternoons 
being  Saturday.  Many  rural  communities  have  realized 
large  sums  of  money  from  their  pageants. 

[  Ninety-six  ] 


Holiday  Celebrations* 

All  special  holidays  such  as  Christmas,  Thanksgiving, 
Fourth  of  July,  Labor  Day,  and  Memorial  Day  offer 
fine  opportunities  for  local  celebrations,  with  masques, 
festivals,  pageants,  and  outdoor  plrys  on  a  large  scale. 
Many  of  these  celebrations  take  the  form  of  pageants 
when  the  entire  community  comes  together  to  celebrate. 
Too  many  celebrations  "all  of  a  kind"  should  be  avoided. 
If  Labor  Day  is  specially  celebrated  one  year,  the  next 
year  the  accent  should  come  on  Fourth  of  July,  or 
Memorial  Day. 

As  a  rule  the  acted  form  of  celebration  is  far  better 
than  the  mere  parade.  Many  cities  and  towns  have  free 
public  pageants,  seating  the  vast  audience  in  a  stadium, 
or  on  a  hillside.  Where  parades  are  used  a  greater 
idea  of  beauty  should  be  developed  for  the  floats.  See 
the  suggestions  for  the  lovely  fairy  tale  parade  de- 
scribed in  detail  in  The  Civic  Theatre  by  Percy  Mackaye 
in  the  appendix  of  that  book. 


*  From  Community  Sep'ice.  1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 
City,  may  be.  secured  primed  and  mimeographed  suggestions  for 
the  celebration  of  various  holidays.  A  list  of  publications  telling 
of  this   material   may   be   h-ad    on    request. 


f  Ninety-seven  ] 


CHAPTER  IX 

OUTDOOR  THEATRES 

It  is  impossible  to  set  down  any  hard  and  fast  rule 
for  an  outdoor  theatre  for  any  community,  or  its  type 
or  cost.  All  that  can  be  done  is  to  state  what  has  been 
accomplished  by  numerous  cities  and  villages  as  a  means 
of  helping  a  community  to  select  the  theatre  best  suited 
to  its  particular  environment.  One  outdoor  theatre  may 
cost  a  half  million  dollars,  and  another  cost  three  hun- 
dred dollars  or  less.  A  hillside  theatre  in  Bennington, 
Vermont,  where  the  people  of  the  community  gave  their 
services  and  evolved  their  own  landscape  architecture 
cost  nothing  but  time,  energy  and  good  will,  according 
to  Miss  Anita  Ferris,  who  staged  in  this  impromptu 
theatre  a  Biblical  pageant  in  which  all  the  Sunday  schools 
of  Bennington  County  participated,  the  cast  including 
men,  women  and  children.  >>. 

Types  of  Theatres 

Some  of  America's  open  air  theatres  are  municipal; 
others  are  community  theatres,  that  is,  built  by  com- 
munity subscription ;  others  are  collegiate,  and  still  others 
— although  these  are  mostly  garden  theatres — are  pri- 
vately owned.  Those  communities  contemplating  having 
an  outdoor  theatre  can  choose  from  a  list  including 
Greek  theatres,  rustic  theatres,  campus  theatres,  park 
theatres,  garden  theatres,  forest  theatres,  hillside  theatres, 
prairie  theatres,  or  theatres  hewn  from  quarries,  or 
perched  on  the  side  of  a  mountain. 

The  seating  capacity  of  these  open  air  play  houses 
ranges  from  100,000  to  250  people  or  less.  In  the  space 
of  this  handbook  it  is  impossible  to  speak  of  them  all, 
but  among  the  largest  may  be  mentioned  the  stadiums 

[  Ninety-eight  ] 


of  New  York  and  Berkeley;  of  Yale  and  Harvard, 
Princeton  and  the  University  of  Michigan;  of  Tacoma, 
San  Diego  and  the  Forest  Theatre  of  St.  Louis. 

Some  Outdoor  Theatres 

California,  because  of  its  climate,  is  particularly 
blessed  with  outdoor  theatres  such  as  one  in  the  heart  of 
the  Redlands  where  the  plays  of  the  Bohemian  Club  are 
given.  Unique,  too,  is  the  Mount  Tamalpais  Theatre  on 
the  top  of  Mount  Tamalpais,  with  giant  trees  for  a 
background,  while  at  El  Camino,  Real  Canyon,  near 
Hollywood,  rockbound  hills  form  the  theatre  auditor- 
ium. Other  interesting  California  theatres  include  those 
of  Point  Loma,  Pomona,  Bakersfield,  Carmel,  Santa 
Cruz,  Clairemont  and   Santa  Barbara. 

Differentiation  is  the  keynote  of  the  outdoor  theatre 
in  America.  Chicago,  Baltimore  and  Washington,  D.  C, 
have  informal  open  air  theatres  in  their  public  parks 
where  the  audience  sits  on  the  hillside.  Worcester, 
Mass.,  is  soon  to  have  such  a  theatre.  Anoka,  a  small 
town  in  Minnesota,  has  one  of  the  best  and  largest 
municipal  open  air  theatres  in  the  country.  Maine  has 
open  air  theatres  at  Blue  Hill,  Bethel  and  Bar  Harbor. 
A  great  natural  amphitheatre  at  Gloucester,  Mass.,  near 
the  sea,  with  a  cliff  background,  was  used  for  one  of 
the  first  medieval  pageants  in  this  country.  The  Cran- 
brook  Masque  made  famous  the  Cranbrook  Theatre 
near  Detroit,  Mich.  The  best  known  outdoor  theatre 
in  North  Dakota  is  at  Grand  Forks,  and  in  South 
Dakota,  at  Yankton.  Meriden,  N.  H.,  celebrated  as  a 
bird  sanctuary,  has  an  especially  attractive  woodland 
theatre. 

The  outdoor  theatre  of  Peterborough  consists  of  a 
square  of  level  ground,  with  pines  enclosing  it  on  three 
sides,  much  as  the  side  walls  enclose  the  stage  of  a 
theatre.  Behind  the  pines  looms  Mt.  Monadnock  as 
background.    The  tier  of  wooden  seats,  accommodating 

[  Ninety-nine  ] 


a  thousand  spectators,  rises  steeply  on  an  opposite  hillside. 
Another  stage  in  Peterborough — that  of  the  Outdoor 
Players — has  been  left  as  woodsy  and  rustic  as  when 
Nature  first  designed  it.  The  stones  and  boulders  of 
the  hillside  have  been  left  standing,  as  well  as  the  trees 
and  wild  flowers.  Between  this  stage  and  the  audience 
runs  a  narrow  mountain  brook.  On  the  opposite  hillside 
there  are  seats  of  concrete.  It  will  be  observed  that  in 
a  mountainous  district  it  is  possible  to  make  fine  use 
of  the  steeply  sloping  ground. 

At  Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina,  there  is  a  real  forest 
theatre.  Another  southern  outdoor  theatre  is  at  Harris- 
burg,  Va.  Some  of  the  outdoor  theatres  of  New  York 
State  include  those  at  Lake  Placid,  Tarrytown,  Mt. 
Kisco  and  Woodstock.  There  is  also  the  beautiful 
Rosemary  Theatre  at  Huntington,  Long  Island.  A 
lovely  name  has  much  to  do  with  popularizing  the  out- 
door theatre  in  the  public  mind,  such  as  the  Beechwood 
Theatre  at  Scarsdale,  New  York,  whose  very  name 
suggests  the  russet  and  gold  of  fall 

Outdoor  Theatres  in  CoUeges  and  Public  Schools 

Very  often  the  one  outdoor  theatre  In  a  community 
will  be  that  of  some  college  or  school.  The  category 
of  college  theatres  cannot  be  given  here  In  Its  entirety, 
yet  no  summary  of  open  air  theatres  would  be  complete: 
without  enumerating  those  of  Vassar,  with  its  level 
lawn,  its  sunken  pool  and  tree  background;  and  the 
woodland  spaces  which  serve  for  outdoor  theatres  for 
Wellesley,  Smith,  Bryn  Mawr  and  Mt.  Holyoke.  The 
colleges  were  the  prime  instigators  in  establishing  out- 
door theatres  in  this  country,  and  it  is  largely  through 
their  influence  that  the  growth  of  the  outdoor  theatre 
has  spread.  Indeed  there  is  scarcely  a  college  in  this 
country  which  does  not  have  Its  open  air  stage,  or  bit 
of  woodland  designated  as  such.  Preparatory  and 
private  schools  are  following  the  lead  of  the  colleges  In* 

\  One  Hundred  ] 


this  respect;  witness  the  fine  medieval  play  for  boys, 
The  Heart  of  Youth,  written  by  the  poet,  Herman 
Hagedorn,  for  the  dedication  of  the  open  air  theatre  of 
the  Hill  School  in  Pennsylvania.  Even  certain  public 
schools  are  beginning  to  consider  the  advisability  of 
adding  such  theatres  to  their  equipment  for  the  pro- 
duction   of    patriotic   pageants   and   plays. 

Utilising  the  Bleachers  of  a  Baseball  Field 

At  Raleigh,  N.  C,  the  bleachers  of  a  large  baseball 
field  were  utilized  for  a  great  audience  for  a  pageant. 
The  baseball  field  itself,  landscaped  with  temporary 
trees  and  vine-draped  wire  screens  and  skillfully  lighted, 
formed  the  stage   for   a   temporary   theatre. 

A  Pergola  Theatre 

On  the  grounds  of  Loretta  College,  Webster  Grove, 
Missouri,  a  pergola  is  used  for  an  outdoor  theatre. 
The  pergola  forms  the  background  of  a  grassy  stage, 
with  dense  foliage  well  placed  at  each  side.  Such  a 
simple  device  as  this  can  be  copied  by  almost  any  com- 
munity, and  makes  an  excellent  setting  for  costume 
plays.  A  pergola  theatre  is  an  intimate  theatre.  Its 
audience  should  not  number  more  than  200.  It  is  one 
of  the  "little  theatres"  of  the  out-of-doors. 

Advantages  of  the  Natural  Outdoor  Theatre 

The  most  satisfactory  outdoor  theatres  are  those  which 
are  in  harmony  with  their  surroundings.  Only  Greek, 
Roman  and  symbolical  plays  can  be  given  in  the  Greek 
theatre  while  only  certain  romantic  plays  can  be  given 
in  a  formal  garden  theatre  where  clipped  hedges  and 
primly  cut  trees  are  part  of  the  equipment.  But  a 
natural  outdoor  theatre  with  grass  and  trees  is  appropri- 
ate for  any  type  of  play  and  is  by  far  the  least 
expensive. 

The  choice  of   such   a   stage   must  be  very  carefully 

[  One  Hundred  and  One  ] 


made  from  the  point  of  view  of  natural  beauty,  ac- 
cessibility and  acoustic  properties.  The  advice  of  ex- 
perts should  be  sought  before  the  site  is  permanently  de- 
cided upon.  It  is  imperative  that  there  should  be  a  level, 
grassy  place  for  dancing,  and  it  is  also  necessary  that 
there  should  be  enough  screen  background  to  hide  the 
actors.  If  the  theatre  is  a  permanent  thing  trees  can 
be  set  out  for  the  stage  background  and  wings.  As 
trees  take  some  time  to  grow,  however,  it  is  suggested 
that  green  posts  and  chicken-wire  be  used  with  the 
leaves  and  foliage  concealing  the  wire.  When  the 
theatre  is  to  be  permanent,  vines  such  as  ivy,  Virginia 
creeper  or  wild  cucumber  should  be  planted  to  cover 
the  wire.  Really  dense  screens  will  be  the  result  and 
these  can  be  placed  in  a  way  to  give  a  charming  effect. 
When  the  trees  are  grown  these  screens  can  be  removed. 
As  a  rule  it  is  wisest  to  place  the  screens  back  of  the 
trees  which  have  been  planted.  It  is  important,  too, 
that  through  some  such  arrangement  as  has  been  sug- 
gested the  orchestra  be  concealed  and  that  there  be  a 
dressing  tent  for  the  actors  placed  back  of  the  screens 
so  that  it  will  not  be  visible  to  the  audience. 

Nothing  lends  greater  enchantment  than  a  beautiful 
background  but  enthusiasts  should  be  warned  against 
having  a  great  vista  as  background  for  plays  or  pageants. 
A  solid  green  background  is  better,  for  the  great  vista 
immediately  tends  to  dwarf  the  group  of  players  and 
make  them  seem  puny  and  insignificant,  while  a  more 
or  less  solid  background  of  foliage  throws  them  into 
high  relief. 

Dramatic  Backgrounds 
In  addition  to  outdoor  theatres  proper,  there  are  what 
might  be  called  dramatic  backgrounds  so  skillfully  im- 
provised to  suit  special  plays  or  occasions  that  their 
very  originality  makes  them  take  high  rank  in  the 
annals  of  outdoor  producing. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Two  ] 


Use  of  Public  Buildings.  Thus  we  find  that  drama 
enthusiasts  have  used  the  porticos  of  public  buildings, 
Greek  in  design,  as  in  Washington,  D.  C,  where  a 
Community  Service  director  was  responsible  for  out- 
door ceremonials  beautiful  in  grouping  and  color. 
Springfield,  Mass.,  used  such  a  building  for  a 
Nativity  play.  Still  other  buildings  have  made  stage 
backgrounds  for  stately  groups  of  symbolic  interludes, 
or  imaginative  Christmas  plays,  or  perhaps,  as  in  Mill 
Valley,  California,  the  portico  of  an  old  Spanish  Mission 
is  utilized  for  a  play  of  the  Yuletide  season,  with  the 
characters  costumed  in  glowing  colors. 

Use  of  a  Colonial  House  as  an  Outdoor  Theatre.  On 
a  midsummer  night,  the  pillars  of  a  colonial  house 
may  form  the  background  for  a  charming  presentation 
of  such  a  Greek  play  as  Pandora.  This  was  done  very 
beautifully  in  Winchester,  Mass.  Night,  of  course,  is 
the  only  time  when  such  a  dramatic  background  can  be 
used  effectively,  for  the  house  itself  must  be  sunk  in 
shadow  while  the  white  pillars  of  its  porch  or  portico, 
and  the  massed  foliage  at  right  and  left  are  clearly 
shown  up  by  means  of  concealed  electric  lighting.  And 
here  it  should  be  stated  that  more  than  half  the  artistic 
success  of  an  outdoor  performance  lies  in  the  lighting, 
which  must  be  as  carefully  rehearsed  as  the  per- 
formance  itself, 

A  Court  Yard  as  an  Outdoor  Theatre.  In  another 
New  England  town,  a  court  yard  and  house  of  Queen 
Anne  design  were  made  the  stage  for  an  excellent 
presentation  of  Pomander  Walk,  by  Louis  N.  Parker. 
Such  a  stage  setting  as  this  can  be  used  either  at  night, 
or  in  the  daylight. 

Greek  pillars  encircling  a  garden  stage,  with  well 
massed  foliage  at  right  and  left  form  a  very  charming 
informal  Greek  theatre.  Such  a  theatre  can  be  had  for 
as  little  as  $200. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Three  ] 


Books  on  outdoor  theatres  are  listed  in  the  Bib- 
liography. 

The  Selection  of  Plays 

Among  the  plays  which  might  be  mentioned  for  out- 
door production  are  Pandora,  Hiawatha,  Rip  Van  Winkle, 
Midsummer  Nighfs  Dreamr,  the  shepherd  scenes  from 
A  Winter's  Tale,  The  Piper,  Robin  Hood  and  Jeanne 
D'Arc. 

It  is  easy  to  costume  Pandora  by  utilizing  the  symbolic 
costumes  which  may  already  have  appeared  in  a  his- 
torical pageant  and  which  are  Greek  in  outline. 

Hiawatha  is  a  play  particularly  adapted  to  Boy  Scouts 
and  Girl  Scouts.  The  Indian  dances  are  especially 
interesting  and  care  should  be  taken  to  have  them 
authentic.  The  Indian  music  gives  fine  opportunities 
for  the  community  orchestra ;  the  community  chorus  will 
be  enthusiastic  about  Taylor  Coleridge's  cantata 
Hiawatha  which  can  be  used  with  the  play.  If  desired, 
symbolic  dances  may  be  introduced  and  large  groups  of 
children  can  appear  as  fireflies.  Other  nature  forces 
may  also  be  typified.  Here  play,  dances  and  music  can 
combine  to  make  the  production  of  real  artistic  merit. 

In  a  mountainous  district  Rip  Van  Winkle  is  partic- 
ularly appropriate.  There  is  an  indoor  version  which 
may  readily  be  acted  out-of-doors  by  making  a  few 
cuts  and  changes.  By  staging  this  classic  out-of-doors 
it  is  possible  to  introduce  old  Dutch  folk  dances.  The 
costumes  are  very  simple.  Those  for  the  women  and 
children  may  be  fashioned  of  inexpensive  materials  and 
yet  be  as  colorful  as  a  garden  of  tulips. 

A  production  of  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  requires 
skilled  direction.  Here  again  all  Greek  and  symbolic 
costumes  will  be  drawn  upon.  Troops  of  children  may 
be  used  for  the  fairies  in  the  fairy  revels.     Again  am 

[  One  Hundred  and  Four  \ 


existing  community  orchestra  and  chorus  can  be  brought 
into  play  through  the  use  of  Mendelssohn's  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream  music. 

The  shepherd  scenes  from  A  Winter's  Tale  give  op- 
portunity for  lovely  shepherd  dances.  Here  the  Suite 
of  Old  English  Dances  by  Edward  German  is  frequently 
used.  This  is  a  production  which  can  be  very  quickly 
worked  up;  its  air  of  rustic  simplicity  is  not  difficult 
to  compass. 

DeKoven's  enchanting  music  can  be  used  for  Robin 
Hood;  Frederick  Converse's  Jeanne  D'Arc  music  for 
Jeanne  D'Arc;  and  music  for  The  Piper  can  be  chosen 
by  the  committee.  These  three  plays  are  not  so  difficult 
to  costume  as  might  be  supposed.  Peasant  dresses  for 
the  women  and  tunics  for  the  men  are  easily  fashioned, 
copied  from  illustrations  in  the  local  libraries. 


[  One  Hundred  and  Five  \ 


CHAPTER  X 
RURAL  DRAMATIC  ORGANIZATION 

Community  drama  is  perhaps  finding  its  fullest  ex- 
pression in  rural  districts  where  it  is  proving  itself  a 
power  in  welding  together  the  whole  community  and 
in  serving  as  the  focusing  point  for  the  leisure  time 
interests  of  all  the  people. 

In  rural  districts  it  will  be  well  to  have  a  permanent 
dramatic  committee  representing  the  Grange,  the  Farm 
Bureau,  the  Women's  Clubs,  the  Girl  Scouts,  Boy 
Scouts,  churches,  schools  and  other  local  groups. 
Through  such  a  committee  the  following  phases  of  com- 
munity drama  may  be  organized : 

1.  The  equipping  of  the  town  hall  as  a  community 
theatre  with  plays  given  by  traveling  groups  of  local 
players 

2.  Festivals  at  the  county  fair  in  which  adults  as 
well  as  school  children  participate 

3.  Historical  pageant  in  which  all  the  towns  of  the 
county  unite. 

4.  Community  Christmas  tree  and  carols  in  each  com- 
munity or  a  traveling  group  of  carolers  who  will  go 
through  the  country-side  in  decorated  sleighs  or  motors 

5.  Educational  dramatics  and  children's  plays  of  high 
standard  in  the  country  schools 

6.  An  impromptu  outdoor  theatre  where  young  people's 
and  adults'  plays  can  be  given 

7.  Special  holiday  celebrations  such  as  Hallowe'en, 
Thanksgiving,  Christmas,  Fourth  of  July  (These  should 

[  One  Hundred  and  Six  ] 


not  be  made  monotonous  by  too  frequent  repetition  of 
certain   forms  of  celebrations). 

8.  Drama  in  the  country  church  with  a  sub-committee 
for  production  of  a  suitable  play  in  one  of  the  churches. 

A  number  of  important  questions  should  be  asked 
by  those  undertaking  leadership  of  the  drama  in  small 
districts.     These  are : 

How  far  does  the  local  library  co-operate  in  having 
the  right  books? 

Is  there  a  branch  duplicate  library  for  sparsely  settled 
districts? 

How  far  does  the  State  Agricultural  College  co- 
operate? 

Is  it  possible  to  have  some  of  the  young  people  of 
the  community  trained  in  expert  dramatic  leadership 
at  the  nearest  agricultural  college? 

Do  groups  of  traveling  players  such  as  the  Ben  Greet 
Players  visit  the  county  seat,  or  a  circuit  of  towns,  in 
the  summer? 

What  does  the  Lyceum  course  bring  in  the  way  of 
drama?  Can  it  be  more  definitely  related  to  the  life 
of  the  community? 

The  Pageant 

Rural  pageantry  is  becoming  more  and  more  wide- 
spread in  this  country  and  many  communities  owe  a  re- 
newal of  their  art  life  to  historical  pageants.  (See 
Chapter  VIII    for   full   discussion  of   pageants.) 

The  Play  in   Rural  Districts 

"In  a  country  town  nothing  attracts  so  much  atten- 
tion, proves  so  popular,  pleases  so  many  or  causes  so 
much  favorable  comment  as  a  home-talent  play.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  ever  appreciat- 
ed the  significance  of  the  statement  he  once  made  when 

[  One  Hundred  and  Seven  ] 


he  said  that  the  simplest  piece  of  amateur  acting  or 
singing  done  in  the  village  hall  by  one  of  the  villagers 
would  create  more  enthusiasm  among  his  friends  and 
neighbors  than  could  be  excited  by  the  most  consummate 
performance  of  a  professional  in  a  great  theatre  where 
no  one  in  the  audience  knew  or  cared  for  the  performer. 
Nothing  interests  people  in  each  other  so  much  as 
habitually  working  together.  It  is  one  way  in  which 
people  find  themselves.  A  home-talent  play  not  only 
affords  such  an  opportunity,  but  it  also  unconsciously 
introduces  a  friendly  feeling  in  a  neighborhood.  It 
develop  a  community  spirit  because  it  is  something  every- 
body wants  to  make  a  success,  regardless  of  the  local 
jealousies  for  differences  of  opinion." 

The  Little  Country  Theatre 

This  statement  comes  from  the  rich  experience  of 
Professor  Alfred  Arvold  of  the  North  Dakota  Agri- 
cultural College  who  developed  the  first  little  country 
theatre.  At  this  theatre  students  are  taught  to  produce 
plays  which  they  can  later  take  back  to  their  own  com- 
munities. They  are  instructed  in  the  remodeling  of 
town  halls,  in  the  use  of  screen  scenery,  in  the  utiliza- 
tion of  the  simplest  materials  in  the  most  effective  way. 
The  performances  given  in  the  made-over  university 
chapel,  which  serves  as  the  theatre  are,  for  the  most 
part,  one-act  plays  about  farm  life  in  North  Dakota. 

Through  the  influence  of  Professor  Arvold's  theatre 
many  parts  of  North  Dakota  are  developing  their  own 
art  life.  Many  home  talent  plays  are  given  with  no 
more  equipment  or  setting  than  an  empty  hay  loft  of  a 
large  barn  with  a  stage  of  barn  floor  planks,  a  draw 
curtain  of  binder  cloth,  lights  supplied  by  ten  barn 
lanterns  hung  on  a  piece  of  fence  wire  and  with  seats 
made  of  planks  resting  on  old  boxes  and  saw-horses. 

New  York  State,  under  the  leadership  of  A.  M.  Drum- 

['One  Hundred  and  Eight  ] 


mond,  Professor  of  Public  Speaking,  Cornell  University, 
has  its  little  country  theatre  in  connection  with  the  state 
fair  inaugurated  in  1919  and  sponsored  by  the  New 
York  State  Fair  Commission,  The  Commission  pro- 
vided a  bare,  whitewashed  wing  of  one  of  the  older 
exhibit  buildings  and  erected  a  rough  stage  on  which 
to  play.  It  was  part  of  the  demonstration  to  work 
things  out  under  conditions  common  to  country  com- 
munities. Scenery  was  designed,  built  and  painted  in 
Ithaca;  proscenium  decoration  planned  and  made  ready, 
lights  remodeled  and  props  selected.  The  players  from 
the  Cornell  Club  rehearsed  and  struggled  with  a  hundred 
details.  The  scenery  was  then  put  in  a  trunk  and  taken 
to  Syracuse. 

The  repertory  of  the  week  comprised  Zona  Gale's 
The  Neighbors;  William  Butler  Yeats*  The  Pot  o'  Broth; 
Lady  Gregory's  The  Workhouse  Ward;  and  Sutro's 
The  Bracelet.  "The  people  who  saw  the  performance 
were  intent,"  says  Professor  Drummond,  "on  taking  this 
thing  home  and  doing  something  with  it  themselves." 

From  the  experiments  at  Syracuse,  which  proved  the 
appeal  that  high  class,  artistic  plays  have  for  people, 
activities  are  springing  up  all  over  the  state.  Thus 
throughout  the  entire  country  little  country  theatres  are 
having  a  tremendous  influence  on  the  life  of  the  people. 

The  Director 

In  speaking  of  the  director  of  community  drama  in 
rural  districts.  Professor  Drummond  says :  "Who  are 
naturally  leaders  in  this  movement?  Who  are  in  a 
position  to  aid  those  whose  interest  may  be  great  if 
aroused?  Naturally  some  are  professionally  or  semi- 
professionally  engaged  in  this  type  of  drama.  But  large- 
ly the  leaders  upon  whom  we  must  depend  are  those 
whose  activities  and  interests  bring  them  into  contact 
with  folk  through  already  organized  channels — preach- 

[  One  Hu,ndred\and  Nine  ] 


ers,  school  teachers,  district  superintendents,  county 
agents,  grange  leaders  and  community  leaders. 

"Where  is  the  organizer  who  will  get  half-a-dozen 
different  plays  going  in  as  many  near-by  villages  and 
put  them  on  a  circuit  so  that  each  community  can  see  in 
turn  the  work  of  others?  Or  who  will  circuit  such 
plays  already  playing,  as  many  are?  Or  who  will  make 
sure  that  the  churches,  the  schools,  the  grange,  the 
women's  clubs,  in  his  village  has  each  its  play,  the 
program  worked  out  with  some  idea  of  relation  of  one 
play  to  another,  and  see  them  staged  one  after  another 
in  the  opera  house,  in  the  school,  the  church,  the  town 
hall,  or  in  the  ample  parlors  of  some  hospitable  neighbor, 
or  during  spring,  or  fall,  or  summer  on  the  lawns  or  in 
the  orchard  or  grove  of  other  hospitable  friends?  Who 
will  take  the  responsibility  that  the  new  town  hall,  or 
grange  hall,  or  addition  to  the  church,  or  the  new 
schoolhouse,  has  modest  but  well-planned  facilities  in  it 
for  the  staging  of  simple  but  good  plays?  Or  who  will 
warm  that  new  barn  by  making  it  the  occasion  of  a  play? 
A  barn  is  a  pleasant  theatre,  especially  when  the  great 
rolling  doors  swing  as  curtain,  or  the  hay-mow,  half 
filled,  can  seat  the  audience  and  the  run  may  be  the  stage. 

"There  are  surely  some  persons  who  will  enjoy  read- 
ing plays  and  picking  the  right  one  for  our  folks.  Some 
will  be  delighted  to  ransack  garrets  for  the  costumes 
of  1860,  to  collect  the  antique  furniture  to  make  a  charm- 
ing setting  for  Cranford.  Perhaps  a  little  play  about 
an  incident  in  the  history  of  our  town,  or  a  plan  for  a 
pageant  descriptive  of  the  founding,  growth,  and  his- 
torical interest  of  the  village  is  already  waiting  for  a 
chance  to  see  the  light.  Some  will  perhaps  wish  to  find, 
or  to  write,  plays  dealing  with  technical  problems  of 
farm  life." 

If  the  director  cannot  be  found  in  the  community  he 
may  often  be  brought  from  the  outside  for  a  small 
salary,  as  in  the  case  of  several  rural  theatres.     Really 

[  One  Hundred  and  Ten  ] 


fine  experts  can  be  found  to  whom  opportunity  means 
more  than  financial  reward.  The  personnel  of  a  theatre 
should  consist,  if  possible,  of  a  paid  director  and  a 
volunteer  staff.  This  staff  includes  assistant  director, 
art  director  (costumes,  scenery),  music  director  and 
house  manager,  who  has  charge  of  the  properties,  heat- 
ing, cleaning  and  sanitation. 

In  a -small  town  it  is  sometimes  better  to  send  out 
a  printed  announcement  mentioning  the  possible  reper- 
tory of  plays,  the  aims  of  the  theatre,  and  the  price  of 
seats.  These  may  run  from  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar,  but 
they  should  not  be  more.  If  possible,  the  whole  house 
should  be  fifty  cents. 
The  Players 

The  main  group  of  the  theatre  may  consist  of  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  players  who  can  be  drawn  upon  at 
any  moment.  They  may  be  used  in  relays.  Perform- 
ances may  be  given  every  Friday  and  Saturday  or  Friday 
and  Saturday  of  alternate  weeks.  Two  nights  or  pos- 
sibly three  nights  a  week  should  be  selected  as  re- 
hearsal nights.  These  should  be  faithfully  adhered  to. 
and  it  must  be  understood  from  the  outset  that  re- 
hearsals are  to  be  regularly  attended. 

Choice  of  Plays 

It  is  better  to  begin  with  a  program  of  three  one-act 
plays.  This  means  that  three  distinct  groups  of  people 
can  be  rehearsed  and  the  burden  does  not  fall  heavily 
on  anyone's  shoulders.  A  program  that  has  been  uni- 
versally successful  consists  of  Alice  Brown's  Joint 
Owners  in  Spain,  Zona  Gale's  The  Neighbors,  and  Yeats' 
Pot  o'  Broth  The  Irish  plays  of  Synge,  Yeats  and 
Lady  Gregory  prove  of  unfailing  interest.  The  rollick- 
ing humor  of  Duty,  by  Seumas  O'Brien  makes  this  a 
particularly  happy  choice.  New  plays  are  continually 
being  produced   that   are   excellent   for   rural   theatres. 

One  Hundred  and  Eleven] 


Miss  Civilisation,  by  Richard  Harding  Davis,  is  a  one- 
act  play  widely  used  by  rural  theatres.  Other  plays 
suggested  as  especially  suitable  for  producing  in  the 
country  districts  are :  A  Bee  in  a  Drone's  Hive,  written 
by  a  young  farmer  out  of  his  own  farm  experiences  and 
extoling  the  advantages  of  rural  life  (obtainable  from 
Professor  A.  G.  Arvold,  of  North  Dakota  Agricultural 
College,  Fargo) ;  Back  to  the  Farm;  Kindiing  the 
Hearth  Fire,  by  Martin  Shumway,  of  the  Extension 
Division  of  the  University  of  Minnesota. 

A  complete  list  of  plays  and  pageants  especially 
adapted  for  use  in  rural  districts  may  be  secured  from 
Community  Service. 

The  Chautauqua 

In  many  rural  communities  the  Chautauqua  has  been 
practically  the  only  channel  for  art  expression.  At  the 
present  time  its  programs  are  more  interesting  and 
alive  than  they  have  ever  been  before.  Storytelling  for 
children,  folk  dances  and  games,  as  well  as  bird  clubs, 
present  activity  for  large  numbers  of  people  of  the  com- 
munity. Operas  are  being  added  to  the  program,  such 
as  Robin  Hood,  Pinafore,  Martha  and  others.  Full- 
length  plays  like  Polly  of  the  Circus,  It  Pays  to  Ad- 
vertise and  The  Man  from  Home  are  gradually  taking 
the  place  of  dramatic  readings  and  impersonations,  and 
Shakespeare  is  still  very  much  alive  on  the  Chautauqua 
circuit.  Pageants,  too,  for  which  the  children  and  young 
people  of  the  community  are  trained  in  advance  by  an 
expert,  are  giving  to  the  people  of  small  towns  the 
benefit  of  professional  advice  and  a  taste  of  dramatic 
expression.  Historical,  patriotic  and  fairy  pageants, 
Biblical  and  Mother  Goose  pageants  offer  a  wide  choice 
adaptable  to  the  particular  groups  to  present  them. 

The  Country  Fair 

As  has  been  demonstrated  by  the  experience  of   Pro- 

[  One  Hundred  and  Twelve  ] 


fessor  Drummond  in  connection  with  his  little  country 
theatre  at  the  State  Fair  much  can  be  done  in  interest- 
ing the  people  of  rural  districts  as  they  come  together 
for  this  function.  And  the  country  fair  shows  promise 
of  becoming  in  time  a  real  expression  of  the  work  and 
life  of  the  countryside.  Several  towns  have  already 
succeeded  in  having  programs  of  talent  presented  by 
the  people  themselves.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to 
strengthen  this  phase  and  to  substitute  the  best  avail- 
able country  drama  for  the  cheap  carnival  which 
persists. 

Planning  the  Program 

Community  drama  in  rural  districts  as  well  as  in 
the  city  is  most  successful  if  its  program  is  planned  in 
advance.  A  year's  program  is  given  here  as  a  basis  of 
suggestions. 

Lincoln's  Birthday 

Lincoln's  Birthday  may  be  celebrated  by  a  community 
sing  and  by  a  children's  play  about  Lincoln,  or,  if  there 
happens  to  be  a  particularly  talented  reader  in  the  com- 
munity, by  reading  done  very  quietly  and  sincerely  of 
passages  from  John  Drinkwater's  Abraham  Lincoln. 
A  Lincoln  play  for  children,  using  a  dozen  or  more 
characters  and  a  simple  interior  setting,  is  to  be  found 
in  Patriotic  Plays  and  Pageants,  published  by  Henry 
Holt  and  Company,  19  West  44th  Street,  New  York  City. 
This  company  also  publishes  a  volume  called  Little  Plays 
from  American  History,  containing  a  play  about  Lincoln 
when  he  was  a  grown  man. 

Valentine's  Day 

On  Valentine's  Day  have  a  Valentine  dance  in  the 
town  hall  with  favors  of  pretty  valentines. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Thirteen  ] 


Washington's  Birthday 

Washington's  Birthday  may  be  celebrated  by  a  pa- 
triotic community  sing  with  stereopticon  pictures  of 
Mt.  Vernon  and  other  places  connected  with  the  life 
of  Washington.  At  the  end  of  the  evening  a  one-act 
play  can  be  given  by  the  adults  of  the  community.  For 
this  purpose  a  delightful  little  comedy  called  Washing- 
ton's First  Defeat  is  admirable.  This  is  published  by 
Samuel  French,  28  West  38th  Street,  New  York  City, 
price  25  cents.  Further  saggestions  will  be  found  in 
Suggestions  for  a  Washingtoi's  Birthday  Program, 
published  with  illustrations  for  tableaux,  by  Community 
Service,  1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City,  price  15 
cents. 

Arbor  Day 

Where  the  rural  school  wishes  to  give  a  very  simple 
program  of  music  and  recitations,  the  following  program, 
which  may  be  staged  as  a  community  celebration  in  the 
town  hall,  will  be  suggestive : 

1.  Arbor  Day  Alphabet,  by  Ada  Simpson  Sherwood, 
given  by  the  little  children  from  the  rural  school,  each 
holding  a  large  letter  of  the  alphabet,  done  in  green 

2.  Song  from  Shakespeare's  As  You  Like  it 
"Who  loves  to  lie  with  me 

"Under  the  greenwood  tree"  (by  community  ohorus) 

3.  Song:  Apple,  Beech  and  Ced<ir  Fair  (by  school 
children) 

4.  Recitation :  Tree  Proverbs 

5.  Recitation:  Woodman,  Spare  That  Tree 

6.  Trees.  A  class  exercise  in  which  young  people  of 
all  ages  from  primary  grade  may  participate 

The  material  for  this  program,  including  the  Arbor 

One  Hundred  and  Fourteen 


Day  Alphabet,  Tree  Proverbs,  Woodman,  Sparc  That 
Tree,  and  the  song,  Apple,  Beech  and  Cedar  Fair,  as  well 
as  Trees,  a  class  exercise^  can  all  be  found  in  Arbor  Day, 
by  Robert  Haven  Schauffler,  in  the  series  called  Our 
National  Holidays,  published  by  Moffat  Yard  and  Com- 
pany, New  York  City,  price  $1.50.* 

Memorial  Day 

An  indoor  or  outdoor  pageant  is  particularly  ap- 
propriate  for  Memorial  Day.f 

May  Day 

May    Day   should   have  its   May   pole   and   a   simple 

festival  by  the  school  children.^ 

Fourth  of  July 

Two  suggestions  are  offered  here  for  a  Fourth  of 
July  ceremonial  and  a  community  gathering. 

A  Patriot's  Fourth  of  July.  If  this  Patriot's  Fourth 
of  July  is  held  in  a  rural  community  in  the  evening, 
use  as  a  novelty  a  Liberty  tree.  The  Liberty  tree  was 
a  pine  tree;  it  is  immortalized  on  many  Revolutionary 
flags. 

Where  this  tree  stands  in  the  center  of  a  village  square 
and  is  lighted  with  electric  lights,  if  possible  have  these 
lights  red,  white  and  blue.  There  should  be  an  Amer- 
ican flag  on  top  of  the  tree.  Where  few  lights  are  used 
for  decoration  in  the  village  square,  or  where  a  tree 
must  be  omitted  for  some  reason,  then  wind  a  flag  pole 
with  Liberty  greens.  Have  it  a  Liberty  pole  such  as  was 
used  in  olden  days,  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes  floating 
from  its  top. 


*  An  Arbor  Day  Ceremonial  by  Nina  B.  Lamkin  may  be  se- 
cured from   Community  Service.     Price,   15   cents. 

t  For  a  simple  and  inexpensive  pageant,  see  Memorial  Day 
Pageant,  by  Josephine  Thorpe,  published  by  Community  Service. 
Price,  25  cents. 

t  See  suggestions  for  May  Day  celebrations,  published  by 
Community   Service.      Price,    10   cents. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Fifteen  ] 


About  this  Liberty  tree  or  Liberty  pole  have  the  com- 
munity gather  to  sing  patriotic  songs.  Have  Liberty 
stand  by  the  tree  or  the  pole  dressed  in  her  traditional 
costume,  with  a  torch  in  her*  hand  lighted  with  an 
electric  light  of  red.  Each  patriotic  singing  group  fol- 
lows a  leader,  who  carries  a  flag  with  a  state  seal  on 
it.  These  flags  can  be  bought  or  made  out  of  Canton 
flannel,  with  the  colors  and  designs  copied  from  the 
colored  plates  of  flags  and  seals  which  can  be  found  in 
any  large  dictionary.  A  large  space  must  be  kept  about 
the  Liberty  tree,  and  under  the  tree  should  be  a  raised 
dais  on  which  Liberty  stands.  Leading  up  to  this  dais 
are  four  pathways,  along  which  community  singers  can 
march  as  they  surround  the  tree  or  pole.  The  celebra- 
tion begins  when  a  bugle  is  blown  three  times.  The 
first  group  of  singers  marches  in  chanting  Arthur  Far- 
well's  Hymn  to  Liberty,  which  may  be  obtained  from 
G.  Schirmer,  7  East  43rd  Street,  New  York  City,  price 
10  cents.  When  the  celebration  is  over,  the  lights  on 
the  tree  are  turned  out,  and  the  symbolic  figure  of 
Liberty  quietly  disappears   from  view. 

Other  suggestions  for  Fourth  of  July  celebration  are 
to  be  found  in  The  Flag  of  the  Free. 

One  community,  which  had  not  sufficient  funds  to  give 
a  pageant,  hung  lighted  lanterns  about  the  village  green 
and  had  a  costume  dance.  Uncle  Sam  and  Columbia  in 
costume  welcomed  the  whole  village,  who  came  dressed 
as  Colonial,  Puritans,  Civil  War  folk,  pioneers  and  vol- 
unteers of  the  War  of  1812.  The  people  either  found 
their  costumes  in  the  attic  or  devised  something.  The 
whole  effect  was  very  pretty  and  novel.  The  dances 
were  such  as  could  be  done  on  the  green,  lancers,  Vir- 
ginia reel  and  some  old  contra  dances.  The  village 
band,  which  had  been  practising  for  two  months,  fur- 
nished the  music. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Sixteen  ] 


Labor  Day 

Suggestions  for  a  Labor  Day  Celebration,  by  May 
I  Pashley  Harris,  may  be  secured  in  mimeographed  form 
i  from  Community  Service,  price  10  cents.  This  cere- 
monial may  be  combined  with  recitations  of  stirring 
poems  and  offers  opportunity  for  community  singing. 
It  should  be  given  by  adults  of  the  community  or  by 
students  of  high  school  or  college  age. 

Thanksgiving 

Thanksgiving  may  be  celebrated  by  a  jolly  community 
gathering  and  a  Pilgrims'  cantata  or  a  Pilgrims'  play. 
For  suggestions  along  this  line  see  Suggestions  for  a 
Thanksgiving  Program,  published  by  Community  Ser- 
vice, price  10  cents. 

Christmas 

For  Christmas  some  rural  communities  like  an  outdoor 
community  Christmas  tree,  or  Tree  of  Light,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  while  others  prefer  an  indoor  celebra- 
tion. Suggestions  may  be  secured  from  Community 
Service. 

A  Christmas  Community  Program  for  the   Tozvn  Hall 

Tn  this  suggested  program  both  singing  and  recitation 
form  a  part.  The  carols  mentioned  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Community  Christmas  Tree  Carol  Book,  published 
by  Novello  and  Company,  2  West  45th  Street,  New 
York  City,  price  5  cents. 

Community  Singing 

Oh,  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem 

t  Silent  Night,  Holy  Night 

We  Three  Kings  of  Orient  Are 
Oh,  Come  All  Ye  Faithful 

\  One  Hundred  and  Seventeen  ] 


Reading 
Mary  the  Mother,  by  Theddosia  Garrison,  from  the 
Designer  Magazine.  With  this  recitation  a  stereop- 
ticon  picture  of  the  Madonna  should  be  thrown  on 
a  white  screen  and  held  until  the  end  of  the  recitation. 
The  reciter  should  not  be  in  evidence. 

Community  Singing 
It  Came  Upon  a  Midnight  Clear 

Recitation 
Kris  Kringle,  by   Thomas   Bailey  Aldrich 

Community  Singing 
The  First  Noel 

Reading 
Good  King  Wencelas 

Community  Singing 
/  Saw  Three  Ships  Come  Sailing  In 

Recitation 

Christimas  Lullaby,  by  John  Addington  Symonds. 
With  this  recitation  there  should  be  posed  a  tableaux 
of  the .  Madonna,  dimly  seen,  seated  against  a  dark 
drapery  with  straw  under  foot  and  the  Child  in  her 
arms.  This  tableaux,  with  the  soft  accompanying 
chorus,  "'Sleep,  Baby,  Sleep,"  ends  the  evening. 


I 


One  Hundred  and  Eighteen 


APPENDIX  A 
Suggestions  for  a  Simple  Industrial  Pageant 

The  background  of  the  stage  of  the  auditorium  should, 
if  possible,  be  draped  with  curtains  of  some  solid  color. 
There  should  be  an  entrance  in  the  center  background. 
There  should  be  a  throne  chair  at  extreme  right  and 
another  at  extreme  left  of  stage.  A  flight  of  steps 
should  lead  up  to  the  stage  so  that  people  can  ascend 
from  the  audience. 

At  right  and  left  of  the  entrance  in  center  background 
there  should  be  three  sets  of  benches  arranged  in  tiers. 
That  is,  each  bench  really  consists  of  three  steps  on  which 
people  can  sit  in  a  group  ^fter  they  have  made  their 
entrance.  Each  of  these  tier-benches  is  entirely  separate. 
There  a«e  three  on  one  side  and  three  on  the  other  side 
of  the  center  entrance.  These  tiers  should  if  possible 
be  the  same  color  as  the  curtains  in  the  background, 
preferably  a  dark  forest  green. 

America  enters  from  center  of  stage  background,  and 
seats  herself  in  throne  chair  at  right.  As  each  group 
in  the  ceremonial  enters,  America  rises  and  remains 
standing  until  they  have  seated  themselves.  As  America 
enters  the  audience  rises  and  sings  the  first  two  verses 
of  America. 

Liberty  enters  and  seats  herself  in  throne  chair  at 
left.  While  she  does  so  the  audience  sings  Arthur 
Farwell's  Hymn  to  Liberty. 

Enter  a  group  of  Pilgrims.  They  come  from  back 
of  audience.  They  march  down  the  aisle  and  mount 
the  steps  to  the  stage  taking  up  their  positions  on  the 
first  tier-bench.  While  they  are  entering,  the  audience 
sings  Martin  Luther's  A  Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God. 

Next,  a  group  of  Colonials  enter  from  back^  of 
audience,  mount  the  steps  and  take  up  their  positions 
on  the  second  tier.  The  Colonial  leader  carries  the 
famous  rtag,  "Don't  Tread  on  Me."  While  tht  Colonials 
are  entering  and  taking  up  their  positions  the  audience 
sings    Yankee  Doodle. 

Enter  from  audience  a  group  of  girls  in  Greek  robes 
of  red,  white  and  blue.     They   dance.     At  the   end   of 

[  One  Hundred  and  Nineteen  ] 


their  dance  a  man  in  the  uniform  of  1812  conies  for- 
ward with  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  his  hand.  This  he 
holds  aloft  and  the  dancers  group  themselves  about  him 
picturesquely  while  the  national  anthem  is  sung.  The 
flag  is  taken  over  to  America  and  with  obeisance  pre- 
sented to  her.  She  takes  the  flag,  and  then  the  group 
takes  up  its  position  on  third  tier. 

Interlude  of  Song  by  Audience 

1.  Way  Down  Upon  the  Szvance  River 

2.  Old  Kentucky  Home 

3.  Hard  Times  Come  Again  No  More 

4.  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic 

At  the  end  of  this  interlude  two  feminine  figures  in 
symbolic  draperies  representing  the  North  and  the  South 
come  from  center  stage  entrance,  holding  a  long  garland 
of  laurel  and  roses  between  them.  They  take  up  their 
positions  on   fourth  tiers. 

To  a  medley  of  European  airs  which  ends  in  our  own 
Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean  a  group  containing 
the  symbolic  feminine  figures  of  Belgium,  France,  Great 
Britain  and  Italy  enter  and  stand  on  fifth  tier. 

There  falls  a  silence  in  which  can  be  heard  a  knocking 
outside  the  center  stage  entrance. 
America 

Who  is  it  knocks? 

An  Immigrant    (loudly   without) 

We,  the  people  of  other  lands,  who  are  seeking  for 
Liberty. 

America 
I  bid  you  enter. 

(Enter  a  group  of   Immigrants.     They  are   in   clean, 
poor,    picturesque    clothes — men,    women    and    children. 
The    Immigrant    Leader    is    stooped    under    a    heavy 
burden.) 

Immigrant  Leader 

We  are  the  people  from  overseas.  We  have  been 
oppressed.    Wc  are  bowed  under  heavy  burdens. 

America 

T  will  lift  your  burdens. 

(At  a  sign  from  America,  Liberty  lifts  the  burden 
from  ofif  the  back  of  the  Immigrant.) 

^Onc  Hundred  and  Twenty  ] 


Second  Immigrant 
We  have  been   starved. 

America 
If  you  work  I  will  give  you  bread. 

Third  Immigrant 
We  have   had  no   opportunities. 

America 
I  will  give 'you  opportunities. 

Immigrants   (in  chorus) 

We  thank  you. 

America 

And  what  will  you  give  me  in  return  for  what  I  have 
given  you? 

Immigrants 

We  will  give  you   loyalty,  devotion  and  gratitude. 

America  holds  high  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  The  Im- 
migrants and  all  people  on  the  stage  as  well  as  all  the 
people  in  audience  rise  and  say  together.  "I  pledge 
allegiance  to  my  flag  and  to  the  Republic  for  which  it 
stands — one  nation,  indivisible,  with  Liberty  and  Justice 
for  all." 

The  band  or  orchestra  plays  John  Philip  Sousa's  Stars 
and  Stripes  Forever  and  the  ceremonial  ends. 


[  One  Hundred  and  Twcnty-onc] 


APPENDIX  B 

Plays    for    Churches,    Parish    Houses   and    Sunday 
Schools 

The  Christmas  Guest,  from  The  House  of  the  Heart 
and  Other  Plays  for  Children,  by  C.  D.  Mackay,  1 
simple  interior  scene.  3  males  and  5  females.  Medieval 
miracle  play  in  verse.  I  act.  Often  given  in  churches. 
It  tells  the  story  of  a  gift  of  children  to  a  beggar  who 
turns  out  to  be  the  Christmas  Angel.  Henry  Holt  &  Co., 
price  $1.25 

A  Christmas  Miracle  Play  in  one  act  as  arranged  by 
the  Playhouse  Association  of  Summit,  N.  J.  This  is 
an  adaptation  of  an  old  miracle  play,  which  can  be 
given  by  a  cast  of  25  or  less  with  a  simple  setting.  The 
manuscript  is  so  arranged  that  there  is  original  music, 
and  full  directions  for  lighting  and  producing,  costum- 
ing, and  arrangement  of  the  auditorium.  Plays  40 
minutes.  Norman  Lee  Swartout.  Deposit  of  $10,  re- 
quired 

A  Christmas  Miracle  Play,  adapted  by  Samuel  Eliot, 
from  the  Coventry  Cycle  of  Miracle  Plays  in  Little 
Theatre  Classics  Number  i.  A  one-act  arrangement  of 
a  naive  and  ancient  miracle  play.  Very  simple  yet  re- 
quiring skillful  acting  and  setting.  One  scene  may  be 
used  throughout.  13  males,  1  female.  Drama  League 
Book   Shop,  price  $1.50 

The  Evergreen  Tree,  by  Percy  IMackaye.  2  exteriors 
or  can  be  given  in  a  church  with  simple  background. 
It  is  possible  to  give  this  either  simply  or  elaborately. 
For  most  churches  the  simple  version  will  be  found 
the  best.  25  males,  4  females.  John  Church  Co.,  Text 
50  cents;  music  $1.50 

Isaiah,  by  Eleanor  Wood  Whitman.  Biblical  play  in 
several  scenes  which  can  be  played  against  a  background 
of  curtains,  with  simple  properties.  5  women.  20  men. 
Other  supernumeraries.  The  important  parts  are  for 
4   men    and    5    women.      Poetic    Biblical    language   used 

[  One  Hundred  and  Twenly-lwo  ] 


throughout.  Biblical  costumes  of  simple  material  but 
rich  color  can  be  used,  copies  from  Sargent's  Prophets 
or  from  Tissot's  Life  of  Christ.  Has  been  produced 
with  great  success  by  the  Community  Players  of  Boston 
and  also  in  several  other  places.  Excellent  for  church 
groups.  Pilgrim  Press,  price  75  cents.  For  permission 
to  act  apply  to  the  author  in  care  of  the  publishers. 

A  Little  Pilgrim's  Progress,  by  C.  D.  Mackay.  12  char- 
acters, boys  and  girls.  Can  be  given  by  a  cast  com- 
posed entirely  of  girls  or  entirely  of  boys,  since  it  is  a 
morality  play  and  the  characters  are  interchangeable.  It 
plays  one-half  hour.  The  setting  is  simple.  Pilgrim 
costumes.  Because  the  play  is  a  morality'  play  it  has 
been  acted  in  churches.  It  is  suitable  for  children  from 
eight  to  fifteen  years.  Published  in  a  volume  with  9 
other  plays  called  The  House  of  the  Heart.  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  price  $1.25 

Mother  Love  Finds  A  Way,  from  Bible  Stories  for 
Children,  by  May  Stein  Soble.  Can  be  given  by  a  cast 
of  8  girls  with  extras  if  desired.  2  scenes  could  be  play- 
ed with  one  background  of  green  curtains.  It  presents 
the  story  of  Moses'  youth  dramatically  told.  Fine  chance 
for  beautiful  but  simple  costumes,  James  Terry  White 
&  Co.,  price  $1.50 

The  Nativity,  by  Rosamond  Kimball.  Originally  de- 
signed for  young  people,  but  in  its  simplicity  would  be 
fine  for  adults.  9  males  and  2  females.  Plays  one  hour. 
At  leaat  20  angels  of  either  sex.  A  Reader  who  may 
be  male  or  female.  One  draped  interior  throughout, 
with  changing  properties.  Tells  the  story  of  the  nativity 
through  tableaux  accompanied  by  carols  and  hymns 
sung  by  the  congregation.  Samuel  French,  price  35 
cents.     No  royalty. 

The  Nativity  and  Adoration  Cycle  of  the  Chester 
Mystery,  by  Frank  Conroy  and  Roy  Mitchell.  These 
plays  are  not  adapted  to  a  church,  but  would  be  ex- 
cellent for  the  well  equipped  stage  of  the  parish  house. 
Need  expert  direction  and  experienced  amateur  acting. 
Arens,  Washington  Square  Book  Shop,  price  35c. 

The  Pilgrim  and  the  Book,  by  Percy  Mackaye.  A 
dramatic  service  for  churches,  complete  with  music  and 
erections   for  simple  costumes  and   staging.     19  speak- 

[  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-three  ] 


ing  characters,  male.  As  many  supernumeries  as 
desired,  men,  women  and  children.  This  beautiful  and 
impressive  service  is  practical  for  any  church,  large  or 
small.  It  can  be  produced  without  royalty  and  has  al- 
ready had  very  wide  use  throughout  the  churches  of 
the  country.  Published  by  the  American  Bible  Society, 
price  25c. 

The  Pozi'cr  of  Fiiriin  and  Other  One- Act  Plays,  by 
Irma  Kraft.  Plays  which  can  be  simply  acted  by  young 
people  of  from  8  to  16  years,  and  are  especially  designed 
for  Jewish  religious  schools.  Plays  contain  from  6  to 
13  characters.  There  are  plays  for  Purim,  Hanakkah, 
Pesah,  Shabout,  and  the  closing  of  the  school.  Jewish 
Publication  Society,  price  $1.50 

The  Resurrection,  by  Rosamond  Kimball.  An  Easter- 
service.  One  draped  interior  or  screens  may  be  used 
throughout.  13  males,  2  females,  a  few  extras.  Plays 
one  hour.  With  the  text  are  given  selections  from  the 
Passion  Music  by  Bach,  This  service  can"  be  used  as 
a  series  of  tableaux,  with  a  reader.  The  lighting  must 
be  very  well  done.  It  belongs  to  that  class  of  religious 
drama  which  must  be  done  perfectly,  or  not  at  all. 
Published  by  Samuel  French,  price  35c.     No  royalty 

The  Traveling  Man,  from  volume  entitled  "Seven 
Short  Plays,  by  Lady  Gregory.  One  male,  one  female, 
one  child.  A  simple  interior  scene.  Plays  25  minutes. 
A  lovely  inpressive  play  of  the  King  who  came  to  a 
purse-proud  woman  and  went  away  unrecognized  be- 
cause he  wore  a  beggar's  garb.  This  play  has  a  wide 
appeal  and  is  exactly  suited  for  a  church.  Samuel 
French,  price  $2.00.  Royalty  $5.00.  (In  a  volume  con- 
taining six  other  one-act  plays.) 

Why  the  Chimes  Rang,  by  Elizabeth  McFadden.  4 
men  and  3  women.  Speaking  parts.  The  parts  of  two 
children  may  be  taken  by  small-sized  young  women. 
Several  men,  women  and  children;  could  be  done  by 
a  cast  of  20  in  all.  A  medieval  Christmas  play  in  2 
scenes.  It  requires  two  interior  settings.  First  a 
peasant's  home,  next  a  cathedral,  which  is  suggested  by 
means  of  a  stained  glass  window  and  an  altar.^  It  tells 
the  story  of  how  a  humble-hearted  gift  out-weighed  all 
the  rich  gifts  at  Christmas  time.  Samuel  French,  price 
35c. 

f  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-four  ] 


Two  religious  prize  plays  of  the  Drama  League,  The 
Rock,  by  Mary  B.  Hamlin,  and  The  Son  of  God,  by 
Linwood  Taft,  can  be  had  by  applying  to  the  Religious 
Drama  Department  of  the  Drama  League,  Clara  Fitch, 
Chairman,  59  East  Van  Buren  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

Reading  Plays 

Holy  Night,  3.  Yuletide  Masque,  by  Hans  Trausil, 
paraphrased  by  Leanora  Speyer.  This  is  a  play  about 
a  highway  on  which  the  various  characters  pass. 
Norman  Lee  Swartout,  price  $L30 

Nasareth,  a  morality  play  in  one  act,  by  Lawrence 
Housman.  This  one  act  play  of  Christ's  j^outh  when 
He  was  a  carpenter's  lad,  would  make  a  fine  reading 
rather  than  an  acting  play.  Full  of  poetic  values.  There 
are  one  half  dozen  speaking  parts.  Samuel  French, 
price  35c. 

Thy  Kingdom  Come.  An  Easter  Miracle  Play  by 
Florence  Converse.  Published  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly 
for  March  1921  and  The  Terrible  Meek,  hy  Charles 
Rann  Kennedy,  to  be  found  in  most  libraries,  are  two 
one-act  plays  that  interpret  the  scene  of  Resurrection, 
Modern  language,  as  if  the  soldiers  of  that  time  were 
men  of  today.  Both  of  these  are  impressive  plays  of 
this  type,  with  a  strong  morale  and  religious  lesson. 


[  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-Jivt\ 


APPENDIX  C 
List  of  One-act  Plays 

The  Affected  Young  Ladies,  by  Moliere.  Costume 
play  of  the  17th  Century.  A  satire  on  feminine  affec- 
tions. 3  male  and  6  female  characters.  One  interior 
setting.     Samuel  French,  price  35c.     No  royalty. 

The  Bank  Account,  by  Howard  Brock.  A  serious  play 
showing  the  results  of  a  woman's  extravagance.  2  male 
and  1  female  character.  (Found  in  Plays  of  the  Har- 
vard Dramatic  Club.)  Samuel  French,  price  $1.25.  1 
interior  setting.  This  book  also  contains  The  Florist 
Shop,   The  Rescue,  and  America  Passes  By.     Royalty 

The  Beau  of  Bath,  by  Constance  D'Arcy  Mackay. 
Costumes  of  the  18th  Century.  A  drama  in  verse  about 
Beau  Nash.  Poetic  and  effective.  1  interior  setting. 
2  male  and  1  female  character.  Henry  Holt  &  Co., 
price  $1.35.  This  book  contains  The  Silver  Lining, 
Ashes  of  Roses,  Gretna  Green,  Counsel  Retained,  and 
the  Prince  of  Court  Painters.    No  royalty. 

Beauty  and  the  Jacobin,  by  Booth  Tarkington.  A 
serious  comedy  of  the  Revolutionary  period.  3  male 
and  2  female  characters.  Costumes  of  the  period.  1 
interior  setting.     Harper  &  Bros.,  price  $1.75.    Royalty 

Behind  a  Walteau  Picture,  by  Robert  E.  Rogers.  Poetic 
fantasy  which  plays  one  hour.  Played  with  great  success 
in  New  York.  12  male  and  2  female  characters.  1  ex- 
terior setting.  Walter  H.  Baker  &  Co.,  price  75c. 
Royalty 

The  Bishop's  Candlesticks,  by  Norman  McKinnel.  A 
dramatization  of  Victor  Hugo's  story.  3  male  and  2 
female  characters.  Costumes  of  the  17th  century.  1  in- 
terior setting.    Samuel  French,  price  30c.    Royalty. 

The  Boor,  by  Anton  Tchekhoff.  A  farce  of  Russian 
peasant  life.  2  male  and  1  female  character.  Samuel 
French,   price  35c.     Royalty. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-six  ] 


The  Bracelet,  by  Alfred  Sutro.  Sophisticated  and 
serious,  but  of  deep  interest.  4  male  and  4  female 
characters.  1  interior  setting  (found  in  Five  Little 
Plays).  Samuel  French,  price  30c.  Royalty.  This 
hook  also  contains  The  Man  in  the  Stalls,  A  Marriage 
Has  Been  Arranged,  The  Man  on  the  Kerb,  and  The 
Open  Door. 

Carrots,  by  Jules  Renard.  Pathetic,  charming.  Re- 
quires fine  acting.  2  women,  1  boy.  Time  40  minutes. 
Samuel  French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

Cinders,  by  Lily  Tinsley.  A  romantic,  rather  old- 
fashioned  comedy  of  a  little  slavey.  1  male,  and  1 
female  character.  I  interior  setting.  Samuel  French, 
price  30c.     Royalty. 

The  Clod,  by  Lewis  Beach  (in  Washington  Square 
Plays).  Tense  play  of  the  Civil  War  period.  4  men, 
1  woman.  Costumes  of  the  period.  An  interior  scene. 
Samuel  French,  price  75c.  This  book  also  contains 
Eugenically  Speaking,  Overtones  and  Helena's  Husband. 

The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish,  by  Eugene  V.  Pres- 
brey.  2  men  and  2  women.  Pilgrim  interior  scene  and 
costumes.  This  play  is  founded  on  Longfellow's  poem 
by  a  well-known  dramatist.  Samuel  French,  price  30c. 
No  royalty. 

Dawn  from  Dawn  and  Other  One -Act  Plays,  by 
Percival  Wilde.  A  one-act  play.  Scene :  The  hut  of 
a  miner.  2  males,  1  female,  1  child.  Absorbing  tragedy 
with  a  supernatural  ending.  Widely  used  in  Little 
Theatres.     Henry  Holt,  price  $L35.    Royalty. 

The  Dear  Departed,  by  Stanley  Houghton.  Comedy 
of  the  dead  returning  to  life  in  time  to  decide  the 
division  of  his  property.  3  male  and  3  female  char- 
acters. Time  30  minutes.  1  interior.  Samuel  French, 
price  30c.     Royalty. 

A  Dear  Little  Wife,  by  Gerald  Dunn.  A  comedy  of 
Japanese  life.  2  males,  1  female.  1  interior  scene. 
Samuel  French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

Enter  the  Hero,  by  Therese  Helburn.  Bright  sophis- 
ticated   play.      Story   of    a   girl    who    makes    her    own 

[  One  Hundred  and  Twenly-seven  ] 


romance  and  is  unmasked.  3  female  and  1  male  char- 
acter. 1  interior  setting.  Washington  Square  Book 
Shop,  price  35c.     Royalty. 

Fiat  Lux,  a  modern  mystcr}  in  one-  act,  by  Faith  Van 
Valkenburgh  Vilas.  3  men  and  1  woman.  1  interior 
setting.  Azariah.  an  unbeliever,  who  has  lost  his  faith 
because  of  his  daughter's  sufferings  and  the  death  of 
his  son  in  battle,  regains  it  on  Christmas  eve  by  a 
miracle  that  shows  him  the  purpose  of  suffering  and 
the  lesson  that  comes  from  facing  death  bravely.  Not 
a  sermon,  but  a  play  with  a  dramatic  denouement.  For 
information  apply  to  the  author,  Faith  Van  Valken- 
burgh Vilas,  Scarsdale,  N.  Y. 

The  Florist  Shop,  by  Winifred  Hawkridge  (in  Plays 
of  the  Harvard  Dramatic  Club).  A  romantic  comedy 
in  a  florist  shop.  3  male  and  2  female  characters. 
Interior  setting.  Samuel  French,  price  $1.25.  Royalty. 
This  book  also  contains  The  Bank  Account,  The  Rescue 
and  America  Passes  By. 

Food,  by  William  C.  deMille.  A  comic  satire  on  the 
high  cost  of  living.  2  male  and  1  female  character.  1 
easy  interior.     Samuel  French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

The  Gaol  Gate,  by  Lady  Gregory.  Scene  outside  a 
prison.  The  release  of  a  convict  and  what  meets  him 
(in  Seven  Plays).  1  male  and  2  female  characters. 
Samuel  French,  price  $2.00,  Royalty.  This  book  also 
contains  Spreading  the  News  Hyacinth  Halvcy,  The 
Rising  of  the  Moon,  The  Jackdaw,  The  Workhouse 
Ward,  The  Traveling  Man. 

The  Good  Men  Do,  by  Hubert  Osborne.  A  play  of 
Shakespeare's  time.  Ironic.  3  male  and  5  female  char- 
acters. Costumes  of  the  period  (in  Plays  of  the  47 
Workshop).     Samuel  French,  price  $1.25.     Royalty 

The  Green  Coat,  by  de  Alusset  and  Angier.  A  comedy 
of  artist  life  in  Paris.  Costumes  from  the  middle  of 
the  19th  Century.  3  male  and  1  female  character.  F^sy 
interior  setting.     Samuel  French,  price  35c.     No  royalty. 

The  Grey  Parrot,  by  Jacobs  and  Rock.  A  comedy  of 
a  spy  that  became  a  boomerang.  English  sailor  life. 
4  male  and  2  female  characters.  Time  25  minutes. 
Interior  setting.     Samuel  French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-eighl  ] 


Hyacinth  Halvcy,  by  Lady  Gregory,  Irish  comedy  oi 
village  life,  easy  to  act.  4  male  and  2  female  char- 
acters. 1  exterior  setting.  In  volume  Seven  Short  Plays, 
Samuel  French,  price  $2.0(1  Royalty.  (See  The  Gaol 
Gate) 

Indian  Summer,  by  iMcilliac  and  iJalvey.  Played  for 
many  years  by  the  Comedie  Francaise.  2  male  and  2 
female  characters.  Easy  interior.  Story  of  romance 
in  the  autumn  of  life.  Time  30  minutes.  Samuel 
French,  price  35c.     No  royalty. 

The  Jackdaw,  by  Lady  Gregory.  Popular  and  very 
amusing.  4  male  and  2  female  characters.  1  interior 
setting.  Samuel  French,  price  $2.00.  Royalty.  Found 
in  volume  Seven  Short  Plays.     (See  The  Gaol  Gate) 

The  Land  of  Heart's  Desire,  by  W.  B.  Yeats.  A 
fairy  tale,  poetic  and  mystic.  3  male  and  3  female  char- 
acters. 1  interior.  Samuel  French,  price  25c.  No 
royalty. 

The  Little  Stone  House,  by  George  Calderon.  1 
interior  scene.  5  males  and  2  females  A  strong  play 
of  Provincial  life  in  Russia,  showing  the  power  of 
heredity.  An  acknowledged  masterpiece  widely  used 
by  Little  Theatres.    Drama  League  Book  Shop,  price  50c 

Lonesome-like,  by  Harold  Brighouse.  Dialect  comedy 
of  English  millfolk.  2  male  and  2  female  characters. 
Samuel  French,  price  50c.     Royalty. 

The  Love  Pirates,  by  George  Ford.  A  farce  of  too 
many  engagements.  3  male  and  3  female  characters. 
Easy  interior.  Time  25  minutes.  Samuel  French,  price 
30c.     No  royalty. 

The  Maker  of  Men,  by  Alfred  Sutro.  A  dramatic 
story  of  a  wife's  devotion.  Easy  interior.  1  male  and 
1  female  character.  Interior  setting.  Samuel  French, 
price  30c.     Royalty. 

A  Marriage  Has  Been  Arranged,  by  Alfred  Sutro. 
A  comedy  of  marriage  that  was  almost  a  fiasco.  1 
made  and  1  female  character.  Samuel  French,  price 
30c.      Royalty.      Interior    setting. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-nine  ] 


A  Marriage  Proposal,  by  A.  Tchekoff.  Satire  of 
marriage  customs  among  the  peasants  of  Russia.  2 
male  and  1  female  character.  Samuel  French,  price 
35c.     No  royalty. 

Miss  Civilisation,  by  R.  H.  Davis.  A  brisk  comedy 
of  two  robbers  and  a  young  woman  of  wealth  and  wit. 
4  male  and  1  female  character.  Time  30  minutes. 
Samuel   French,   price  35c.     No   royalty. 

The  Monkey's  Paw,  by  W.  W.  Jacobs  and  L.  N, 
Parker.  A  dramatic  sketch  of  great  power  and  suspense. 
4  male  and  1  female  character.  Samuel  French,  price 
30c.     Royalty. 

The  Neighbors,  by  Zona  Gale.  A  comedy  with  under- 
lying serious  tone.  Easy  kitchen  setting.  2  male  and 
6  female  characters.  In  volume  "Wisconsin  Plays." 
Samuel  French,  price  50c.  This  book  contains  In 
Hospital  and  Glory  of  the  Morning. 

The  Ninth  Walts,  by  R.  C.  Carton.  A  comedy  of  an 
interrupted  romance  resumed  after  many  years.  1  male 
and  1  female  character.  Interior  setting.  Samuel 
French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

'Op  o'  My  Thumb,  by  Fenn  and  Pryce.  An  English 
comedy  of  a  little  drudge  in  a  laundry  who  dreams  of 
a  lordly  lover  and  her  disillusionment.  1  male  and  5 
female  characters.     Samuel  French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

Pierrot  Home  from  the  War,  by  Thomas  Wood 
Stevens.  1  man  and  1  woman.  Simple  interior  setting. 
Poetic  play  full  of  underlying  meaning.  Frank  Shay, 
price  50c. 

Poached  Eggs  and  Pearls,  by  Gertrude  Jennings.  3 
men  and  6  women.  A  canteen  comedy.  2  interior 
scenes.     Samuel  French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

The  Police  Matron,  by  Carl  Glick.  2  males  and  2 
females.  Interior  scene.  Exciting  play  of  Crookdom. 
Norman  Lee  Swartout,  price  27c.     Small  royalty. 

A  Pot  O'  Broth,  by  Yeats.  (In  Vol  II,  plays  for  an 
Irish    Theatre.)    Quaint    and    humorous    play.     2    male 

[  One  Hundred  and  Thirty  ] 


and  1  female  character.  1  cottage  interior.  Samuel 
French,  price  $1.50.  Royalty.  This  book  also  contains 
The  Hour  Glass  and  Cathleen  Ni  Houlihan. 

The  Price  of  Coal,  by  Harold  Brighouse.  Play  of 
Lancashire  life.  1  male  and  3  female  characters. 
Samuel  French,  price  50c.     Royalty. 

Spreading  the  News,  by  Lady  Gregory.  Comedy  of 
village  gossip,  7  male  and  3  female  characters.  Out- 
skirts of  country  fair.  Samuel  French,  price  $2.00. 
Royalty.  Found-  in  volume  Seven  Short  P^Iays.  (See 
The  Gaol  Gate) 

Tents  of  the  Arabs,  by  Lord  Dunsany.  1  scene;  out- 
side the  gates  of  an  Eastern  City.  5  males,  1  female 
Poetic,  imaginative  play  with  chance  of  beautiful  stage 
effects.  Used  by  Little  Theatres  and  gifted  amateurs. 
Samuel  French,  price  $2.00. 

Three  Pills  in  a  Bottle,  by  Rachel  L.  Field.  (In  Plavs 
of  the  47  Workshop).  Delightful  little  fantasy.  5 
men,  3  women.  Interior  setting.  Samuel  French,  price 
$1.25.    Royalty. 

The  Traveling  Man,  by  Lady  Gregory.  Beautiful 
miracle  play  with  simple  interior  scene.  1  male  and  1 
female,  1  child.  (In  Seven  Short  Plays).  Samuel 
French,  price  $2.00.     Royalty.     (See  The  Gaol  Gate). 

Two  Crooks  and  a  Lady,  by  Eugene  Pillet.  Play 
with  good  situations  and  crisp  dialogue.  (In  Plays 
of  the  47  Workshop).  3  male  and  3  female  characters. 
Samuel  French,  price  25c.     Royalty. 

Turtle  Doves,  by  Mellis  Twelve.  A  farce  of  newly- 
wed.  2  male  and  3  female  characters.  Interior  setting. 
Samuel  French,  price  30c.     Royalty. 

Under  the  Greenwood  Tree,  by  Philip  Trevor. 
Pastoral  play  in  verse.  2  male  and  5  female  characters. 
Time  1  hour.     Samuel  French,  price  30c.    Royalty. 

The  Worl'ihouse  Ward,  by  Lady  Gregory.  Comedy 
requiring  good  acting.  A  poorhouse  ward.  (In  Seven 
Short  Plays).  Two  males  and  1  female.  Samuel 
French,  price  $2.00.     Royalty.      (See   The   Gaol  Gate). 

[  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-one] 


Collections  of  One-act  Inlays 

Fifty  Contemporary  One-Act  Plays — European  and 
Anierican,  by  Frank  Shay  and  Pierre  Loving.  Gives  a 
wide  panoramic  view  of  the  whole  one-act  movement, 
and  presents  an  absorbing  study  of  comparative  drama. 
Stuart,  Kidd  Co.,  price  $5.00. 

Four  volumes  of  the  47  Workshop  Plays  of  Harvard 
College.     Brentano's  Book  Shop,  price  $1.25  per  volume. 

One-Act  Plays,  by  American  Authors.  Edited  by 
Helen  Louise  Cohen.  16  plays  with  10  illustrations  of 
stage  settings  and  costumes.  Harcourt,  Brace  &  Co., 
price  $2.25. 

Representative  One-Act  Plays,  by  American  Authors, 
which  have  been  produced  in  Little  Theatres.  Edited  by 
Margaret  Mayorga.  This  book  is  splendid  not  only  for 
the  plays  which  it  contains  but  for  its  preface  which 
should  be  very  helpful  to  all  producers  of  one-act  plays. 
Little  Brown  &  Co.,  price  $3.00. 

(The  above  books  may  be  obtained  from  the  Drama 
League  Book  Shop,  29  West  47th  Street,  New  York 
City.     Add  10c  per  book  postage  to  order). 


(  O  le  Hundred  and  Thirly-tiVo  ] 


APPENDIX  D 

General  List  of   Long  Plays   for  Mixed   Casts 

The  Adventures  of  Lady  Ursula,  by  Anthony  Hope. 
4  acts,  12  men,  3  women.  Interior  scenes.  Colonial 
costume.  Clever  comedy*.  Sparkling  lines.  Concerns 
the  adventures  of  Lady  Ursula  Harrington  after  she 
has  donned  a  man's  disguise  and  finds  herself  challenged 
to  a  duel.     Samuel  French,  price  50c. 

All  of  a  Sudden  Peggy,  by  Ernest  Denny.  A  comedy 
in  3  acts  with  2  interiors.  Modern  costumes.  5  male 
and  5  female  characters.  Samuel  French,  price  60c. 
Royalty. 

The  Arrival  of  Kitty,  by  Norman  Lee  Swartout.  3 
acts.  Interior  scene.  Can  be  managed  in  one  scene  by 
change  of  properties.  5  males,  4  females.  For  per- 
mission to  use  address  the  author,  Summit,  N.  ^  J. 
Royalty.  This  farce  has  been  widely  used  by  high 
schools  and  colleges.  It  makes  a  lively  evening  .for  a 
mixed  cast,  but  is  also  good  for  a  cast  of  all  men,  since 
Kitty  is  a  man  disguised  as  a  woman.  Price  60c. 
Walter  H.  Baker  &  Co. 

As  You  Like  It,  by  William  Shakespeare.  A  comedy 
in  5  acts.  Unusual  edition,  well  arranged  both  for 
acting  and  reading.  16  male  and  4  female  characters. 
Possible  for  all  female  characters.  Dramatic  Publishing 
Co.,  price  25c.     No  royalty. 

Between  Two  Lives,  by  Charles  Burkett.  A  "farm 
and  city"  play  in  3  acts.  8  men  and  6  women.  Simple 
interior  scenes.  Easy  to  give.  Has  already  been  acted 
by  country  audiences  500  times  or  more.  It  tells  of 
actual  problems  as  they  exist  on  the  farm  today. 
Orange  Judd   Co.,  price  50c. 

The  Bird's  Christmas  Carol,  by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin. 
\   pfey  in  3  acts,  and  prologue.     2  men,  5  women  and 

(  ()»f  llunilred  and  Thirty-three  ] 


5  children.  Tells  in  dramatic  form  the  well  loved  and 
world  famous  Christmas  story,  introducing  several  new 
characters.    Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  price  65c. 

Billeted,  by  F.  Tenninson,  Jesse  and  H.  Harwood.  A 
charming  comedy.  Played  by  Margaret  Anglin.  One 
easy  interior  scene.  4  male  and  5  female  characters. 
Samuel  French,  price  60c.     Royalty. 

The  Canterbury  Pilgrims,  .by  Percy  MacKaye.  4 
acts.  46  males  and  7  females.  A  story  of  the  time  of 
Chaucer  in  which  the  latter  figures  as  the  leading  char- 
acter. The  2  interiors  and  2  exteriors  can  be  easily 
arranged.  It  is  also  possible  to  give  a  beautiful  pro- 
duction of  the  play  out-of-doors.  Widely  acted.  Per- 
mission to  act  must  be  obtained  from  the  author  in  care 
of  the  publishers.     Macmillan  Co.,  price  $1.50 

The  Chinese  Lantern,  by  Laurence  Housman.  A 
comedy  in  3  acts  with  1  interior  scene.  Fantastic  cos- 
tumes of  modern  times,  12  males  and  2  females.  Pos- 
sible for  all  female  characters.  Samuel  French,  price 
75c.    Royalty. 

A  Doll's  House,  by  Henrik  Ibsen.  4  acts.  4  males, 
4  females,  3  children.  One  scene  setting  throughout.  A 
play  for  advanced  groups  in  Little  Theatres.  Requires 
skilled  acting.  Can  be  had  in  all  libraries,  and  in  the 
Little  Leather  Library  Classics  sold  at  all  ten  cent  stores. 

The  First  Lady  in  the  Land,  by  Charles  F.  Nirdlenger. 
A  play  in  4  acts.  3  interiors.  Easily  managed.  Can  be 
played  with  one  interior  by  rearranging  properties,  11 
males.  8  females  and  at  least  10  extras.  Charming 
comedy  of  American  history  with  Dolly  Madison  as  its 
central  character.  Walter  Baker  &  Co.,  price  60c. 
Royalty. 

The  Forest  Princess,  by  Constance  D.  Mackay.  A 
play  in  3  acts  which  can  be  given  outdoors  or  indoors 
as  desired.  Contains  several  dances.  Medieval  cos- 
tumes. 20  characters  and  as  many  court  attendants  and 
peasants  as  desired.  All  female  characters  possible. 
Plays  VA  hours.  Drama  League  Book  Shop,  price  $J.35. 
No  royalty, 

[  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-four  ] 


Green  Stockings,  by  A.  E.  W.  Mason.  A  comedy  in 
3  acts.  Two  interior  settings,  but  one  is  possible.  Droll, 
delightful  fun  and  sentiment.  Played  by  Margaret 
Anglin.  7  male  and  5  female  characters.  Samuel  French, 
price  60c. 

The  Harlequinade,  by  Dion  C.  Calthrop  and  Granville 
Barker.  Fanciful  play  adapted  to  colleges  and  Little 
Theatres.  4  scenes  which  require  skill  in  setting.  ^  6 
males  and  2  females.  Fantastic  story  of  Harlequin. 
Little  Brown  &  Co.,  price  $1.25 

Hawthorne  of  the  U.  S,  ^4.,  by  J.  B.  Fagan.  A  rom- 
antic farce  in  4  acts  with  1  interior  and  2  exteriors. 
Adventures  in  the  Balkans,  involved  with  turmoil  and 
intrigue.  15  male  and  3  female  characters.  Samuel 
French,  price  60c. 

The  Importance  of  Being  Earnest,  by  Oscar  Wilde. 
Brilliant  comedy  of  English  life.  3  acts.  2  interiors, 
1  exterior  scene.  Not  difficult  to  arrange.  5  males,  4 
females.     Samuel  French,  price  60c. 

Jeanne  D'  Arc,  by  Percy  Mackaye.  5  acts.  40  males 
and  7  females.  Indoor  and  outdoor  scenes  which  can 
be  simplified.  Many  colleges  have  given  outdoor  pro- 
ductions of  this  beautiful  play.  Costumes  can  be  copied 
from  Boutet  de  Monvel.  Macmillan  Co.,  price  $1.50. 
Royalty. 

The  Lady  of  the  Weeping  Willow  Tree,  by  Stuart 
Walker  in  More  Portmanteau  Plays.  A  Japanese  play 
in  3  acts.  2  males,  4  females.  The  exterior  settings 
are  easy  to  arrange.  Excellent  play  for  experimental 
amateurs.     Samuel  French,  price  $2.50. 

Let's  Get  Married.  A  farce  in  3  acts  by  Lewis  Beach. 
1  interior  setting.  3  males,  5  females.  Modern  play  at 
a  house  party  originaly  produced  by  the  Harvard  Dram- 
atic Club,  and  since  then  used  by  other  colleges.  Walter 
H.    Baker,    price    60c. 

The  Little  Gray  Lady,  by  Channing  Pollock.  A  drama 
in  four  acts  with  one  exterior  and  two  interiors.  Julia 
Dean  played  the  heroine.  No  hero.  6  male  and  5 
female  characters.  Tale  of  government  office  life  in 
Washington.    Samuel  French,  price  60c. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-five  ] 


The  Little  Minister,  by  J.  M.  Barrie.  A  drama  in 
four  acts  with  two  interiors  and  two  exteriors.  Played 
by  Maude  Adams.  Unique  types  and  unusual  story. 
Manuscript  form  only.  11  men  and  5  women.  Obtained 
from  Sanger  &  Jordan,  price  $1.00.  A  deposit  of 
$25.00  is  required.     Royalty. 

Little  Women,  a  dramatization  of  Louisa  M.  Alcott's 
story.  4  acts.  1  interior  and  1  exterior.  8  females 
and  4  males.  A  most  human  and  delightful  story  of  a 
family  of  girls.     Samuel  French,  price  75c. 

The  Man  of  Destiny,  by  Bernard  Shaw.  One-act  play, 
45  minutes  in  length.  Interior  Scene.  4  males  and  1 
female.  Brilliant  play  of  Napoleon  and  a  clever  French 
woman.    Samuel  French,  price  75c.    Royalty. 

The  Man  Who  Married  a  Dumb  Wife,  by  Anatole 
France.  2  acts.  Exterior  setting.  7  males,  3  females, 
10  extras.  Medieval  play,  lively  in  action,  with  songs 
and  dances.  Gives  excellent  chance  for  colorful  cos- 
tumes. With  a  one-act  curtain  raiser  lasts  a  full  evening. 
John  Lane,  price  $1.00. 

The  Man  zmthout  a  Country.  A  dramatization  of 
Edward  Hale's  famous  story  by  Elizabeth  McFadden 
and  Agnes  Crimmons.  15  male  characters.  Concerns 
the  well  known  story  of  a  man,  Philip  Nolan,  who 
was  unfaithful  to  his  country,  wished  never  to  hear  her 
name  again  and  who  was  sentenced  to  exactly  what  he 
desired  in  this  respect.  In  the  end  Philip  Nolan,  the 
man  without  a  country,  feels  that  to  have  a  country 
and  be  loyal  to  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  that 
can  come  to  any  human  being.    Samuel  French,  price  30c. 

A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  by  William  Shake- 
speare, the  Ben  Greet  edition.  4  acts.  11  males.  10 
females  and  from  10  to  20  extras.  This  is  a  cut  version 
with  helpful  stage  directions.  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co., 
price  $2.00. 

Monsieur  Beaucaire,  by  Booth  Tarkington.  Dram- 
atized by  Ethel  H.  Freeman.  3  acts,  with  2  interiors  and 
2  exteriors.  14  male  and  7  female  characters,  and 
servants.  All  female  characters  may  be  used.  Requires 
exacting  preparation.  Walter  H.  Baker,  price  60c. 
Royalty. 

(  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-six  ] 


Mrs.  Temple's  Telegram,  by  Frank  Wyatt  and  William 
Morris.  A  farce  in  3  acts.  A  tale  of  tangles  cleverly 
straightened  out,  of  natural  human  situations,  and  the 
folly  of  deceit.    Samuel  French,  price  60c. 

Pelleas  and  Melisande,  by  Maeterlinck.  3  interiors 
and  4  exteriors  or  can  be  played  on  a  draped  stage  with 
changing  properties.  5  males,  3  females,  1  child  and 
at  least  6  extras.  Advisable  for  Little  Theatre  produc- 
tion. Requires  skilled  acting.  Can  be  found*  in  all 
libraries,  or  in  the  Leather  Library  Series  sold  at  all 
ten  cent  stores. 

The  Piper,  by  Josephine  Preston  Peabody.  A  play 
in  4  acts  which  can  be  acted  out-of-doors  or  indoors. 
14  men,  6  women,  5  children.  Other  men,  women  and 
children  as  supernumeraries.  Tells  a  poetic  version  of 
the  Pied  Piper  in  which  the  children  return  to  Hamelin 
Town  after  having  been  lured  away  by  the  Piper, 
Medieval  costumes  and  scene  setting.  Stratford-on- 
Avon  Prize  Play.  Possible  for  stage  of  any  size.  Has 
been  given  at  Hull  House,  Chicago,  etc..  as  well  as 
in  theatres.     Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  price  $1.57. 

Pomander  Walk,  by  Louis  N.  Parker.  3  acts  with 
1  exterior  setting,  difficult  but  well  worth  the  effort. 
10  male  and  8  female  characters.  All  female  parts 
possible.  Costumes  of  the  18th  century.  Samuel  French, 
price  60c.     Royalty. 

Pride  and  Prejudice,  by  Mrs.  Steele  MacKaye,  founded 
on  Jane  Austen's  novel.  4  acts,  4  interiors  and  exterior. 
10  males  and  10  females.  If  desired  one  interior  can 
be  made  to  do  by  clever  arrangement  of  properties.  This 
is  a  charming  play  with  costumes  of  the  early  nineteenth 
century  which  has  been  widely  used  by  colleges  and 
schools.      Samuel   French,   price  $1.40.      Small    royalty. 

The  Prinze  Chap,  by  Edward  Peple.  A  comedy  in  3 
acts  with  2  interiors.  Strong  heart  interest,  romance, 
humor  and  sentiment.  6  male  and  5  female  characters. 
Samuel  French,  price  60c. 

Prunella,  by  Lawrence  Housman.  3  acts.  Exterior 
setting.  14  male  and  8  female  characters.  Poetic  play 
of  Pierrot  and  Pierrette.  Obtained  from  Little,  Brown 
&  Co.,  price  $1.50.     Royalty. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-seven  ] 


The  Rivals,  by  R.  B.  Sheridan.  9  males  and  5 
females.  All  female  parts  possible.  Costumes  of  the 
period.    5  acts,  scenery  varied.    Samuel  French,  price  25c. 

The  Romancers,  by  Edmond  Rostand.     A  comedy  in 

3  acts.  Indoors  and  outdoors.  1  scene  throughout. 
Costumes  either  Medieval  or  18th  century.  6  characters 
and  as  many  supernumeraries  as  desired.  Samuel 
French,  price  35c.    No  royalty. 

A  Rose  O'  Plymouth  Tozmi,  by  Beulah  M.  Dix  and 
Evelyn  G.   Sutherland.     Charming  romantic  comedy  in 

4  acts.  4  male  and  4  female  characters.  Puritan  cos- 
tumes. Interior  setting,  and  an  exterior  setting.  Dram- 
atic Publishing  Co.,  price  60c.     Royalty. 

The  Scarecrow,  by  Percy  Mackaye.  4  acts.  10  males, 
6  females.  2  interior  scenes,  a  blacksm.ith  shop  and 
colonial  home.  Colonial  play  which  requires  skilled  act- 
ing.    MacMillan  Co.,  price  $1.50. 

A  Scrap  of  Paper,  by  J.  Palgrave  Simpson.  Comedy 
in  3  acts.  Interior  scenes.  6  men  and  6  women.  Very 
well-known  play.  A  trifle  sophisticated.  Requires 
knowledge  of  drawing  room  manners.  Rapid  action. 
Amusing  situations.  Play  concerns  famous  "scrap  of 
paper"  that  is  always  being  lost  or  that  turns  up  in  the 
wrong  place  at  the  wrong  moment.  Samuel  French, 
price  25c. 

Secret  Service.  A  Civil  War  Drama  in  4  acts  by 
William  Gillette.  16  male  and  5  female  characters.  Can 
be  played  in  one  interior  scene  if  desired  by  changing 
properties.  One  of  the  great  values  of  this  play  is  that 
it  shows  the  heroic  side  of  both  North  and  South  as  well 
as  giving  an  exciting  picture  of  the  adventures  of  the 
hero  who  is  in  the  Secret  Service.  Samuel  French, 
price  60c. 

Sherwood,  by  Alfred  Noyes.  A  drama  of  the  time  of 
Robin  Hood  with  costumes  of  that  period.  Full  evening 
play.  16  males,  6  females,  fairies,  merry  men,  etc. 
All  female  characters  possible.  Indoor  scene  of  castle 
and  forest  scenes.  Permission  for  performance  must  be 
obtained  from  the  publisher.  Frederick  Stokes  &  Co., 
srice  $1.75. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Thirly-eight  ] 


A  ThourSand  Years  Ago,  by  Percy  MacKaye.  4  acts. 
7  males,  2  females,  10  extras.  1  exterior  and  4  interiors. 
For  experienced  amateurs.  This  play  requires  some 
cutting.  There  is  opportunity  for  gorgeous  Chinese  cos- 
tumes. It  has  been  widely  used  by  colleges  and  teachers' 
training  schools.     Samuel  French,  price  75c.     Royalty. 


[  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-nine  ] 


APPENDIX  E 
List  of  Dramas  for  Children 

Plays  for  Boys  and  Girls 

Hiawatha,  by  Florence  Holbrook.  One  outdoor  setting 
throughout.  Speaking  parts,  3  girls,  9  boys  and  extras. 
As  many  Indians  as  desired  can  be  added  to  the  cast. 
It  should  have  a  cast  of  at  least  35  to  make  it  really 
effective.  It  plays  one  hour.  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co., 
price  36c.  Music  for  the  Indian  games  and  dances  can 
be  found  in  Indian  Games  and  Dances  with  Native 
Songs,  by  Alice  G.  Fletcher.  C.  C.  Birchard  &  Co., 
price  $2.00. 

In  the  Good  Old  Days,  by  Nora  Archibald  Smith, 
from  Plays,  Pantomimes  and  Tableaux  for  Children. 
There  are  two  girls  and  five  boys  in  this  play,  ages 
eleven  to  fifteen  years.  It  has  been  very  widely  used, 
and  has  always  been  most  successful.  It  concerns  the 
adventures  of  two  children  of  today  who  crawl  through 
an  ancient  fireplace  into  yesterday,  and  find  themselves 
in  Pilgrim  days,  with  Indians  and  bears,  and  all  sorts 
of  excitements.  The  play  lasts  about  an  hour  and  is 
most  amusing.    Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  price  $2.00. 

The  House  of  the  Heart,  by  Constance  D'Arcy  Mackay 
from,  The  House  of  the  Heart  and  Other  Plays  for 
Children.  This  is  a  one-act  play  in  verse,  with  a 
simple  interior  setting.  7  girls  and  5  boys.  It  shows 
both  good  and  evil  entering  the  heart  of  a  child,  where 
good  finally  triumphs.  Medieval  costumes.  This  play 
was  first  produced  by  the  Children's  Educational  Theatre 
in  New  York,  and  later  by  the  Arts  Theatre,  Chicago. 
Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  price  $1.25. 

Operettas 

Cinderella  in  Flower  Land,  by  Marion  Loder.  This 
little  operetta  can  be  used  very  charmingly  as  a  May 
Day  Festival.  It  tells  the  story  of  Cinderella  only  in 
this  case  all  the  characters  are  flowers,  and  the  lost 
slipper  is  the  Lady's  Slipper.  The  costumes  can  be  very 
inexpensive  yet  very  pretty.     The  music  is  bright  and 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forty  ] 


attractive.  This  operetta  has  already  been  very  widely 
used  as  a  May  Day  Festival.  Any  number  of  children 
can  take  part.     Chas.  H.  Ditson  Co.,  price  30c. 

Hiawatha's  Childhood,  by  Bessie  Whiteley.  This  really 
deals  with  Hiawatha's  youth,  rather  than  with  his  child- 
hood, and  so  is  suitable  for  the  older  boys  and  girls. 
One  outdoor  scene.  This  can  be  purchased  from  the 
C.  C.  Birchard  Co.,  price  75c.  The  volume  contains 
both  words  and  music;  the  music  is  all  founded  on 
genuine  Indian  tunes.  There  are  6  boys  and  4  girls, 
and  as  many  other  children  can  form  the  chorus  as 
desired. 

The  Fairy  Changeling,  by  Harriett  Prescott  Spoffard. 
This  can  be  found  in  the  St.  Nicholas  Book  of  Plays  and 
Operettas.  35  characters,  boys  and  girls,  can  take  part 
in  this  operetta,  which  can  be  given  either  indoors  or 
out-of-doors.  The  characters  are  flowers,  bees,  butter- 
flies. The  songs  and  choruses  are  set  to  music  from 
Gilbert  and  Sullivan's  Operas,  and  other  well-known 
airs.  The  plot  concerns  the  adventures  of  a  fairy 
changeling  in  a  garden  of  flowers.  Teachers  looking 
for  an  operetta  in  which  the  graduating  class  can  play 
the  leading  part,  and  the  rest  of  the  school  can  act  as 
chorus,  will  find  one  in  this.  Century  Company,  price 
$1.50. 

The  Goblin  Fair,  by  Cordelia  Brooks  Fenno  and 
Arthur  Bergh.  Both  words  and  music  are  published 
by  C.  C.  Birchard  &  Co.,  price  75c.  There  are  two 
scenes  in  this  operetta,  but  the  book  contains  descrip- 
tions as  to  how  it  could  be  given  in  one  scene.  The 
principal  singing  parts  are  for  5  girls  and  4  boys.  As 
many  extra  boys  and  girls  as  desired  may  take  part 
as  goblins,  moonbeam  fairies  and  mice.  The  dances  for 
mice  and  goblins  will  make  a  strong  appeal  to  boys, 
while  the  girls  will  delight  in  being  moonbeam  fairies 
The  costumes  can  be  simply  and  inexpensively  arranged. 
From  25  to  40  children  can  take  part  in  this.  The 
whole  book  is  splendidly  practical,  with  full  directions 
for  choruses  and  dances.  It  plays  45  minutes  or  more 
according  to  whether  it  is  elaborately  given. 

Plays  for  Cast  of  All  Girls 

Every  Girl's  Friends,  a  Health  Play,  from  Patriotic 
Plays  for  Young  People,  by  Virginia  Olcott.     This  could 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forly-one  ] 


be  acted  in  the  schoolroom,  or  m  the  school  auditorium 
or  even  out  of  doors.  There  are  ten  girl  characters 
in  the  play.  Health,  Long  Walks  and  Fresh  Air  banish 
Listlessness  from  Every  Girl.  It  is  a  practical  little 
play  with  a  good  lesson.    Dodd,  Meade  &  Co.,  price  $1.75. 

Finding  the  Mayflowers,  by  Blanche  Proctor  Fisher. 
This  is  a  play  in  one  act  for  seven  girls,  or  if  its  pro- 
logue is  included,  for  six  girls  and  one  boy.  The  ages 
are  ten  to  fourteen  or  thereabouts.  It  plays  25  minutes 
and  must  have  an  interior  scene  for  its  setting.  The 
play  concerns  the  adventures  of  some  little  Pilgrim 
girls  and  the  hunt  for  the  first  mayflowers,  which  are 
found  through  the  services  of  an  Indian  maiden.  This 
is  a  very  pretty  little  play.  Walter  H.  Baker  Co., 
price  25c. 

Mother  Love  Finds  a  Way  from  Bible  Stories  for 
Children,  by  May  Stein  Soble.  .Can  be  given  by  a  cast 
of  8  girls  with  extras  if  desired.  2  scenes  could  be 
played  with  one  background  of  green  curtains.  It 
presents  the  story  of  Moses'  youth  dramatically  told. 
Fine  chance  for  beautiful  but  simple  costumes.  James 
Terry  White  &  Co.,  price  $1.50. 

Plays  for  Cast  of  All  Boys 

Daniel  Boone  from  Patriotic  Plays  and  Pageants,  by 
C.  D.  Mackay.  9  boys,  and  at  least  10  extras,  or  more, 
for  Indians.  One-act  play,  out-door  setting.  Tells  the 
story  of  Daniel  Boone  and  the  Long  Knives.  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.;  price  $1.40. 

The  Oxfordshire  St.  George  Play  is  a  very  simple  en- 
tertainment for  boys  which  can  be  acted  without  any 
special  scenery  on  the  floor  of  a  hall,  or  which  can 
form  part  of  an  Old  English  Revel  for  Christmas,  if  so 
desired.  There  are  six  boy  characters  in  it,  and  in- 
cluding the  sword  fights  it  should  play  fifteen  to  twenty 
minutes.  This  is  a  good  play  to  use  in  connection  with 
indoor  or  outdoor  folk  dancing  at  Christmas  time.  Play- 
ground &  Recreation  Association  of  America,  price  5c. 

Plays  for  Children's  Theatres 

Snow  White,  Winthrop  Ames'  edition,  with  music  by 
Edmund  Rickert.  21  or  more  characters.  Must  be  at 
least  10  boys;  but  boys  and  girls  could  be  used  in  it 

f  One  Hundred  and  Forty-two  \ 


interchangeably.  Can  be  produced  in  either  one  or  two 
settings.  In  one  setting :  A  background  of  forest  green 
curtains;  in  two:  a  palace  and  a  woodland  hut.  Plays 
two  hours.  In  manuscript  form  only.  Obtained  from 
the  office  of  Winthrop  Ames 

The  Snow  Queen,  a  fairy  play  for  children  in  two 
acts,  by  Elizabeth  B.  Grimball.  12  boys,  20  girls,  at 
least  25  non-speaking  parts ;  but  would  be  better  with 
a  cast  of  75  in  order  to  do  the  dances  justice.  Charming 
dramatization  of  Hans  Christian  Anderson's  famous 
story.  2  settings,  both  exterior.  Play  contains  incidental 
songs  and  dances.  Has  been  produced  at  the  Broad 
Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  Lenox  Hill  Settlement, 
New  York  City,  and  at  the  Berkeley  Institute,  Brooklyn. 
Woman's  Press,  price  75c. 

The  Toy  Shop,  A  Drama  for  Children,  by  F.  S. 
Isham  and  Edward  Wetzel,  has  a  very  large  cast  of  boys 
and  girls.  In  fact  any  number  can  be  used.  The  girls 
are  dolls  and  the  boys  are  soldier  dolls.  This  has  been 
found  a  very  useful  play  for  using  a  large  cast  of 
children.  It  plays  about  an  hour,  has  an  interior  scene, 
a  toy  shop,  and  the  costumes  are  not  difficult.  This 
play  has  been  acted  at  the  Little  Theatre,  Philadelphia, 
and  at  the  Century  Theatre,  New  York.  Samuel  French, 
price  30c. 

Pageants 

The  Pageant  of  Patriots  from  Patriotic  Plays  and 
Pageants,  by  C.  D.  Mackay.  From  200  to  500  young 
people  can  take  part  in  this  pageant  which  deals  with 
the  youth  of  Washington,  Lincoln,  Franklin,  Pocahontas, 
etc.  As  few  of  the  many  episodes  can  be  used  as  desired 
without  affecting  the  integrity  of  the  whole.  The  settings 
can  be  arranged  for  both  indoor  and  outdoor  scenes. 
Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  price  $1.40. 

Pantomimes 

Those  who  want  children's  pantomimes  which  will  fit 
various  ages,  will  find  them  in  Plays,  Pantomimes  and 
Tableaux  for  Children,  by  Nora  Archibald  Smith.  These 
pantomimes  are  especially  useful  for  simple  schoolroom 
entertainments.  There  is  one  of  Goldilocks  and  the 
Three  Bears  for  one  girl  and  three  boys ;  there  'is 
another  of  Red  Riding  Hood  for  three  girls  and  two 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forty-three  ] 


boys.  This  has  a  happy  ending,  and  a  pretty  French 
folk  dance  is  introduced.  There  is  another  delightful 
pantomime  of  The  Shoemaker  and  the  Elves.  For  this 
pantomime  four  older  children  are  required,  and  four  or 
six  smaller  children  can  participate,  either  boys  or  girls. 
Still  another  pantomime  in  this  book  is  Snow  White  and 
Rose  Red.  In  this  there  are  three  girls  and  three  boys. 
Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  price  $2.00. 

Plays  for  Special  Holidays 

Thanksgiving 

The  First  Thanksgiving  Dinner,  by  Marjorie  Benton 
Cooke.  7  boys  and  3  girls  of  twelve  to  fourteen  years. 
Pilgrim  costumes.  Plays  25  minutes.  Drama  League 
Book  Shop,  price  35c. 

The  Little  Pilgrim's  Progress,  by  C.  D.  Mackay,  12 
characters,  boys  and  girls.  Can  be  given  by  a  cast  com- 
posed entirely  of  girls  or  entirely  of  boys,  since  it  is 
a  morality  play  and  the  characters  are  interchangeable. 
It  plays  one-half  hour.  The  setting  is  simple.  Pilgrim 
costumes.  Because  the  play  is  a  morality  play  it  has 
been  acted  in  churches.  It  is  suitable  for  children  from 
eight  to  fifteen  years.  Samuel  French,  price  25c.  Also 
published  in  a  volume  with  9  other  plays  The  House  of 
the  Heart.     Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  price  $1.25. 

Christmas 

A  Puritan  Christmas,  from  Plays  for  Home,  School 
and  Settlement,  by  Virginia  Olcott.  This  is  an  excellent 
little  play  for  a  small  cast  of  2  boys  and  2  girls 
requiring  a  simple  interior  setting  and  Puritan  costumes. 
It  would  play  about  half  an  hour  and  could  be  given  in 
a  parlor  or  school  room.    Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  price  $2.00. 

The  Christmas  Jest,  from  A  Child's  Book  of  HaHday 
Plays,  by  Frances  Gillespy  Wickes.  ^  This  play  can  be 
given  by  12  or  15  boys  or  girls  and  is  arranged  so  that 
they  can  be  used  interchangeably.  It  has  3  scenes,  but 
any  difficulty  arising  in  changing  these  scenes  can  be 
met  by  staging  the  play  against  a  background  of  cur- 
tains or  by  using  screens.  It  plays  one-half  hour.  The 
costumes  are  elaborate  and  pitcuresque.  The  time  is 
medieval.  Several  ancient  Christmas  customs  are  intro- 
duced.    Macmillan  Co.,  price  80c. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forty-four  ] 


Christmas  Eve  with  Charles  Dickens,  from  Little  Plays 
about  Famous  Authors,  by  Maud  Morrison  Frank,  is  a 
touching  and  charming  little  play  about  the  real  Charles 
Dickens  suitable  for  children  from  10  to  16.  The  play 
is  valuable  because  it  shows  what  Dickens  had  to  over- 
come. Introduced  into  the  play  is  a  dream  scene.  This 
has  few  or  as  many  boys  and  girls  as  desired.  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  price  $1.35. 

Mother  Goose's  Christmas  Visit,  by  Edith  T.  Langley, 
is  a  Christmas  play  wiih  a  few  songs  introduced.  The 
words  and  music  of  these  songs  are  included  with  the 
play.  The  characters  are  the  familiar  Mother  Goose 
characters.  There  are  5  boys  and  7  girls.  The  costumes 
are  simple.  The  play  lasts  20  minutes.  It  is  good  for 
country  communities,  where  all  the  Mother  Goose  char- 
acters will  be  immediately  recognized.  Samuel  French, 
price  30c. 

Christmas  Tableaux,  from  Plays,  Pantomimes  and 
Tableaux  for  Children,  by  Nora  Archibald  Smith, 
from  20  to  35  children  are  used  in  this  tableau,  or  a 
smaller  number  if  desired.  The  tableaux  are  (1) 
Christmas  in  England — suggestions  for  10  tableaux  with 
old  English  carols.  (2)  Christmas  with  the  children — 
8  tableaux.  (3)  A  Christmas  garland — 10  tableaux.  Mof- 
fat, Yard  Co.,  price  $2.00. 

May  Day 

The  Enchanted  Garden,  by  C.  D.  Mackay  can  be  acted 
indoors  or  out-of-doors  as  a  May  Day  play  or  a  June 
graduation  play.  Most  of  the  characters  are  flowers. 
There  are  also  bee,  butterfly  and  will-of-the  wisp.  There 
are  10  characters.  Boys  and  girls  can  be  used  inter- 
changeably. As  many  other  children  as  desired  can  be 
introduced  as  extra  flowers  or  attendants  of  the  Queen. 
With  a  dance  or  two  it  plays  about  45  minutes.  Samuel 
French,  price  30c. 


[  One  Hundred  and  Forty-five 


APPENDIX  F 
A  List  of  Pageants  and  Masques 

America,  Yesterday  and  Today,  by  Nina  B.  Lamkin. 
Historical  pageant  of  American  scenes.  200  to  500  par- 
ticipants. Outdoor  pageant,  but  can  be  given  on  floor 
of  armory  or  large  hall.  Pictures  of  costumes  included 
in  volume..  Pageant  has  dialogue,  dances  and  choruses. 
T.  S.  Dennison  Co.,  price  $1.00,  postage  6c. 

Faith  of  Our  Fathers,  A  Pilgrim  Pageant,  by  Annie 
Russell  Marble.  This  pageant  is  in  two  parts.  Part 
one  contains  five  episodes  and  part  two  contains  three 
episodes.  There  are  26  men,  10  women  and  5  small  boys, 
with  as  many  extras  as  desired  in  the  first  part  of  the 
pageant;  and  8  women,  21  men,  10  boys  and  4  girls,  with 
as  many  extras  as  desired,  in  the  second  part  of  the 
pageant.  The  first  of  this  pageant  deals  with  the  Pil- 
grims. It  gives  an  excellent  picture  of  Pilgrim  times, 
and  brings  out  very  clearly  the  whole  matter  of  the 
signing  of  the  Mayflower  compact.  There  is  also  an 
interesting  scene  of  the  first  Thanksgiving  which  would 
make  this  pageant  particularly  adaptable  for  the  Thanks- 
giving season.  The  scenery  throughout  consists  of  a 
background  of  curtains  with  a  few  special  properties. 
The  second  part  of  the  pageant  takes  up  a  more  modern 
theme  dealing  with  the  Faith  of  Our  Fathers  in  modern 
times.  Both  parts  of  the  pageant  may  be  used:  or  to 
use  part  one  would  make  a  complete  Pilgrim  pageant. 
There  are  especially  fine  choruses  used  throughout,  set 
to  authentic  music  of  Pilgrim  times.  This  pageant  can 
be  had  in  mimeographed  form  from  Community  Service, 
price  25c. 

The  Flag  of  the  Free,  by  Elizabeth  B.  Grimball.  A 
program  and  a  ceremonial  for  Independence  Day,  con- 
■sisting  of  tableaux,  music  and  recitations  relating  to 
Independence  Day.  It  also  has  a  ceremonial  in  pageant 
form  of  the  making  of  the  flag.  Community  Service, 
price  15c. 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forty-six  ] 


The  Gift  of  Time,  a  Christmas  Masque  from  the 
Forest  Princess  and  Other  Masques,  by  Constance 
D'Arcy  Mackay.  This  Masque  has  one  scene  through- 
out— a  background  of  curtains.  It  has  21  characters 
including  New  Year,  Old  Year,  a  Mortal,  Months,  Past, 
Present,  Future,  etc.  Several  dances  are  introduced, 
among  them  a  dance  of  the  Hours.  This  Masque  was 
first  produced  by  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  has  been  widely 
used  by  girls'  and  women's  clubs  at  Christmas.  The 
costumes  are  Greek,  and  simple  to  make.  Henry  Holt 
&  Co.,  price  $1.35.     No  royalty 

A  Memorial  Day  Pageant,  by  Josephine  Thorp.  A 
beautiful  Ceremonial  in  Pageant  form  prepared  for 
Memorial  Day  with  complete  directions  for  costuming 
and  producing  and  a  drawing  of  stage  plan.  Com- 
munity Service,  price  25c. 

National  Red  Cross  Pageant,  with  a  sub-title  called 
The  Dedication  of  the  Altar  to  Peace,  published  in  the 
back  of  the  booklet  called  The  Drawing  of  the  Sword, 
by  Thomas  Wood  Stevens,  can  be  had  free  of  charge 
by  applying  to  Community  Service,  while  the  supply 
lasts.  The  National  Red  Cross  Pageant  can  be  given  by 
a  cast  ranging  from  50  to  150  participants.  It  should  be 
used  as  it  stands  from  page  27  to  page  34.  In  order 
to  bring  to  up  to  date,  it  must  end  with  the  festival 
Dance  of  Harvest,  mentioned  on  page  34.  The  war 
episode  on  page  34  must  now  be  omitted.  The  Dance  of 
Harvest  should  be  very  beautifully  given  and  should 
mark  the  end  of  the  pageant.  The  costumes  throughout 
this  pageant  are  Greek  and  Medieval.  The  episodes  are 
Greek,  Flemish,  Italian,  English,  Russian  and  French. 
Although  it  is  a  Red  Cross  Pageant,  the  idea  through- 
out is  one  of  liberty  for  the  nations.  There  is  a  very 
beautiful  frontispiece,  picturing  the  setting  for  the 
pageant. 

The  New  Citizenship,  a  Civic  Ritual  devised  for  places 
oi  public  meeting  in  America,  by  Percy  MacKaye.  This 
ritual  IS  designed  to  make  clear  to  foreign  citizens  the 
obligations  they  assume  upon  becoming  naturalized  Amer- 
ican citizens.  From  200  to  500  people  can  participate, 
according  to  the  number  of  foreign  citizens  and  the 
length  of  time  the  pageant  is  desired  to  run.  Certain 
omissions  can  be  made  without  disturbing  the  integrity 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forly-scven[] 


of   the   whole,    if    desired.      Macmillan    Co.,    price    50c, 
postage  4c  extra. 

The  New  Era,  a  Pageant  of  Patriotism  and  Recon- 
struction. Written  by  the  Outdoor  Players  of  Peter- 
boro,  New  Hampshire.  Pageant  with  a  delightful  pan- 
tomime introduced.  Has  been  performed  successfully 
all  over  the  country.    Community  Service,  price  25c. 

A  Pageant  of  Girlhood,  prepared  by  the  Bureau  of 
Educational  Dramatics  of  Community  Service  with 
songs  and  lyrics  by  F.  Ursula  Payne.  An  outdoor 
pageant  for  girls,  in  7  episodes  with  choruses,  dances, 
and  opportunity  for  introducing  games,  etc.  There  are 
3  speaking  parts,  Girlhood,  Childhood  and  Womanhood. 
Besides  these,  a  pageant  chorus  and  5  important  non- 
speaking  pageant  groups.  Each  of  these  groups  has 
from  25  to  50  girls  in  it  as  desired.  The  pageant  shows, 
in  a  series  of  brisk,  colorful  episodes,  the  work,  the 
games,  the  folk  dance,  the  recreation  and  the  dreams  of 
Girlhood.  It  is  easy  and  inexpensive  to  produce.  The 
costumes  can  be  very  lovely  and  are  easy  to  arrange. 
Community  Service,  price  25c. 

A  Pageant  of  Independence  Day,  by  Thomas  Wood 
Stevens,  Stage  Guild,  707  Railway  Exchange  Bldg., 
Chicago,  111.,  price  35c.  Permission  to  perform  must 
be  obtained  from  the  Stage  Guild.  This  pageant  is 
more  adapted  to  city  communities  than  to  rural  com- 
munities. It  is  of  high  literary  standard,  and  contains 
several  stirring  scenes.  From  150  to  500  can  take  part 
in  it.     There  are  full  stage  directions. 

The  Pageant  of  Patriots,  from  Patriotic  Plays  and 
Pageants,  by  Constance  D.  Mackay.  This  pageant  is 
for  young  people  8  to  25  years  of  age.  It  contains 
dialogue,  pantomime  and  dances.  It  can  be  given  in- 
doors or  out-of-doors.  It  has  a  cast  ranging  from  150 
to  500  as  desired.  It  deals  with  such  famous  characters 
as  George  Washington,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  Priscilla  Mullins,  Pocahontas,  etc.  There  are 
full  directions  for  staging,  music  and  costumes.  Plays 
one  and  a  half  hours.     Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  price  $1.40 

Pageant  of  Play,  by  May  Pashley  Harris.  This  little 
pageant    was  planned  primarily  for  use  by  a  playground 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forty-eight  ] 


group  out-of-doors,  preferably  a  woodsy  spot  in  a 
park.  It  could  be  adapted  to  the  various  possibilities  of 
individual  playground  groups.  If  a  good  dance  instructor 
is  not  available  the  game  and  story  book  numbers  may 
be  added  to.     Community  Service,  price  15c. 

The  Perfect  Gift.  A  Christmas  Pageant  by  Elizabeth 
Hines  Hanley,  in  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Star  guides 
the  Spirit  of  Christmas  to  the  place  where  at  last  is 
found  the  Perfect  Gift.  All  that  composes  the  Gift  is 
there — the  self-denial,  the  kindly  feeling,  the  desire  to 
give,  the  good  will  and  the  wish  that  it  may  carry  hap- 
piness. A  community  tree  is  shown  around  which 
carols  are  sung.  The  pageant  ends  with  the  distribu- 
tion of  gifts  by  Santa  Claus  and  his  attendants,  and  a 
general  community  celebration  around  the  tree.  Com- 
munity Service,  price  25c. 

Raleigh,  Shepherd  of  the  Ocean.  An  Historical 
Masque,  by  Frederick  H.  Koch.  Written  around  the 
life  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  showing  his  influence  both 
in  the  old  world  and  the  new.  It  has  speaking  parts  for 
not  less  than  30  people,  and  can  be  given  with  a  cast 
of  from  200  to  300  players.  It  shows  scenes  of  both 
adventure  and  court  life,  with  a  chance  for  colorful 
costumes.  Splendid  as  the  production  of  the  masque 
is,  it  has  been  so  cleverly  arranged  that  it  can  be  pro- 
duced for  not  more  than  $500.  Can  be  had  in  typewritten 
form  only,  price  $1.50.  For  permission  to  use  address 
the  author,  Frederick  H.  Koch,  University  of  North 
Carolina,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C.  Royalty  of  $10.00  for 
each  performance,  payable  to  author 

The  Sanctuary,  by  Percy  MacKaye.  6  men,  2  women, 
1  child.  Outdoor  Masque.  Poetic  plea  for  bird  sanctu- 
aries that  has  been  widely  acted.  Very  easy  to  stage. 
Frederick  Stokes  Co.,  price  $1.50 

The  Shining  Goddess,  by  Clara  E.  Sackett.  A  pageant 
which  can  be  given  indoors  or  out-of-doors.  28  speak- 
ing parts.  9  men  and  the  rest  women.  There  should 
be  at  least  22  women  for  dances.  Pageant  contains 
dialogue,  songs  and  dances  and  has  a  full  description 
of  costumes.  It  shows  that  through  Service,  Enlighten- 
ment and  Health  the  American  girl  comes  to  find  the 
spirit  of  joy,  shows  the  advantages  of  Exercises,  Health 

[  One  Hundred  and  Forty-nine  j 


and  Fresh  Air.  Plays  1  hour.  Easy  and  inexpensive 
to  produce.  Used  by  Industrial  Groups  with  much 
success,  also  used  as  a  health  pagear^t.  Excellent  for 
these  or  other  social  centers.  The  Women's  Press, 
price  $1.35.    This  includes  text  and  payment  of  royalty. 

The  Trees  of  the  Blazed  Trail,  by  Faith  Van  Valken- 
burgh  Vilas.  Three  endings  have  been  written  making 
possible  the  use  of  the  Masque — (1)  As  a  dedication 
of  grounds  or  buildings ;  (2)  as  a  Commencement 
Exercise;  (3)  as  a  dedication  of  the  youth  of  a  com- 
munity who  have  reached  majority  and  are  to  vote  for 
the  first  time,  in  other  words,  the  dedication  of  the 
young  to  the  service  of  their  Country.  For  informa- 
tion apply  to  the  author,  Faith  Van  Valkenburgh  Vilas, 
Scarsdale,  N.  Y. 

Under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  a  festival  of  citizenship, 
by  Elizabeth  B.  Grimball.  Designed  for  schools,  neigh- 
borhood clubs,  civic  and  other  organizations.  This 
festival  is  intended  to  bring  together  in  closer  under- 
standing and  friendship,  the  various  nationalities  and 
different  social  units  of  a  community.  The  material 
contains  lists  of  musical  publications,  including  singing 
games,  folk  songs  and  dances,  national  anthems  and 
marches  of  more  than  sixty  nations.  Community  Serv- 
ice, price  25c. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(The  following  books  may  be  obtained  from  the  Drama 
League  Book  Shop,  29  West  47th  Street,  New  York  City. 
Add   10c.  per  book  postage  to  order) 

Books  on  Dramatic  Organisation  in  Cities  and  Towfis 

The  Civic  Theatre,  by  Percy  MacKaye.  Discusses 
the  whole  movement  of  Community  Drama  in  its  larger 
aspects,  with  plans  for  city  dramatics  on  a  large  scale. 
In  its  appendices  can  be  found  excellent  material  ^  for 
special  celebrations.  The  whole  book  is  full  of  fruitful 
suggestions.     Mitchell  Kennerly,  price  $2.00 

The  Community  Theatre,  by  Louise  Burleigh.  Dis- 
cusses in  an  informal  manner  various  dramatic  groups 
organized  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  Little, 
Brown  &  Co.,  price  $1.75 

[  One  Hundred  and  Fifty], 


Patriotic  Drama  in  Your  Town,  by  C.  D.  Mackay. 
Gives  plans  for  working  out  yearly  programs,  and  for 
planning  in  advance  celebrations  for  Fourth  of  July, 
Labor  Day,  Christmas,  May  Day,  etc.  Henry  Holt  & 
Co.,  price  $1.35 

Books  on  Community  Theatres  and  Producing 

Costumes  and  Scenery  for  Amateurs,  by  C.  D.  Mackay. 
Describes  how  to  make  simple  scenery  and  costumes 
and  has  illustrations  of  both.  Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  price 
$1.75 

How  to  Produce  Amateur  Plays,  by  Barrett  H.  Clark. 
One  of  the  most  practical  books  on  play  producing  to 
be  found  anywhere.  It  is  invaluable,  both  for  the  ex- 
perienced and  inexperienced  worker  in  dramatics.^  It 
has  diagrams,  descriptions,  play  analysis,  etc.  Little, 
Brown  &  Co.,  price  $1.75 

On  Building  a  Theatre,  by  Irving  Pichell.  Contains 
ideas  valuable  for  advanced  groups.  Theatre  Arts 
Magazine,  price  $1.50 

Our  Irish  Theatre,  by  Lady  Gregory.  Invaluable  for 
showing  how  small  beginnings  can  lead  to  greater  things ; 
and  how  such  humble  material  at  potato  sacking  can 
be  used  in  scenic  work.     Putnam  Sons,  price  $2.80 

Practical  Stage  Directing  for  Amateurs,  by^  Emerson 
Taylor.  Takes  up  the  fundamentals  of  producing,  make- 
up, etc.  It  is  a  splendid  book  for  High  Schools  and 
amateur  groups.     E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co.,  price  $L50 

Producing  in  Little  Theatres,  by  Clarence  Stratton. 
Gives  wonderfully  helpful  advice  as  to  the  simplest,  least 
expensive  and  most  artistic  Little  Theatre  settings.^  It 
also  tells  of  the  excellent  effects  obtained  in  various 
high  schools  by  the  use  of  the  so-called  "new  scenery." 
Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  price  $2.00 

Shakespeare  for  Community  Players,  by  Roy  Mitchell. 
Gives  a  chapter  on  lighting.  It  is  absolutely  invaluable 
for  workers  in  Little  Theatres,  or  with  experimenting 
dramatic  groups.  Is  practical  not  only  for  Shakes- 
pearian plays,  but  for  plays  of  all  sorts.  E.  P.  Dutton 
&  Co..  price  $2.50 

One  Hundred  and  Fifty-one 


The  Theatre  of  Today,  by  H.  K.  ModerweH.  This 
book  is  out  of  print  but  can  be  found  in  most  libraries. 
Its  graphic  illustrations  will  be  of  help  to  advanced 
producers  in  the  amateur  field.  It  thoroughly  discusses 
all  types  of  scenery  and  lighting.  Essentially  a  book 
for  the  more  practiced  producer 

The  Twentieth  Century  Theatre,  by  William  L. 
Phelps,  For  a  brief  comprehensive  survey  of  the  theatre 
in  this  country  this  book  can  be  recommended  to  all 
students  of  the  drama.     MacMillan  Co.,  price  $1.50 

How  to  Sing  a  Song,  by  Yvette  Guilbert.  An  excellent 
comprehensive  treatise  on  the  art  of  acting,  gesture,  tone 
color.  Valuable  for  advanced  students  and  also  valuable 
for  beginners.    Macmillan  Co.,  price  $2.25 

Books  on  Educational  Dramatics  and  Children's  Theatres 

Educational  Dramatics,  by  Emma  Sheridan  Fry.  A 
book  v^rhich  takes  up  the  fundamentals  of  educational 
dramatics  in  somewhat  too  technical  a  form  for  any 
save  experienced  producers.  But  there  is  in  this  book 
a  splendid  analysis  of  story  playing  which  shows  the 
actual  development  of  the  educational  method.  Drama 
League  Book  Shop,  price  75c. 

How  to  Produce  Children's  Plays,  by  C.  D.  Mackay. 
This  book  deals  with  the  producing  of  children's  plays 
in  the  schools ;  gives  a  history  of  the  educational 
dramatic  movement  from  the  time  of  Madame  de  Genlis 
to  the  present.  Has  a  chapter  on  Play  Analysis.  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  price  $1.35 

Plays  and  Festivals,  by  Percival  Chubb  and  Associates 
This  book  discusses,  with  a  wealth  of  detail,  all  the 
problems  pertaining  to  school  plays  and  festivals.  It  is 
fully  illustrated,  and  there  are  practical  suggestions  for 
music  and  costumes  for  children's  festivals.  Harper 
Brothers,  price  $2.00 

Outdoor   Theatres 

The  Art  Theatre,  by  Sheldon  Cheney.  "Mr.  Cheney 
discusses  The  Commercial  Theatre,  shows  where  the 
Little  Theatres  have  failed,  and  points  to  the  Art 
Theatre    as    a    solution.      He    then    defines     the    Art 

[  One  Hundred  and  Fifiy-lwo  ] 


Theatre  and  takes  up  the  vital  matters  of  Actmg  and 
Actors,  Stage  Settings,  Plays,  Audiences  (in  large  cities 
and  small),  Organization  and  Management,  and  Build- 
ings and  Equipment.    Alfred  A.  Knopf,  price  $2.50 

The  Open- Air  Theatre,  by  Sheldon  Cheney.  This  is 
the  most  authoritative  book  on  this  subject,  beautifully 
illustrated,  and  gives  examples  of  every  type  of  outdoor 
theatre.  A  less  formal  treatise  on  Outdoor  Theatres 
can  be  found  in  The  Community  Theatre,  by  Louise 
Burleigh,  mentioned  above.  Mitchell  Kennerley,  price 
$3.50 

Books   on  Pageantry 

American  Pageantry,  by  Ralph  Davol.  Published 
by  Ralph  Davol,  price  $2.00,  postage  10c.  extra 

Community  Drama,  by  Percy  MacKaye.  Houghton 
Mifflin  &  Co.,  price  75c. 

Community  Drama  and  Pageantry,  by  Mary  Porter 
Beagle  and  Jack  Randall  Crawford.  Yale  University 
Press,  price  $4.00,  postage  10c.  extra 

Pageants  and  Pageantry,  by  Esther  W.  Bates.  Ginn 
&  Co.,  price  $1.75 

Holiday   Celebrations 

Community  Celebrations,  by  Alfred  Arvold.  A  book 
which  gives  all  manner  of  interesting  plans  for  celebrat- 
ing the  different  seasons  of  the  year,  and  the  different 
holidays.  Especially  designed  for  rural  communities.  It 
is  filled  with  suggestions  that  would  be  excellent  for 
any  community.  Apply  to  the  author,  University  of 
North  Dakota,  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  for  the  book. 

Folk  Festival,  by  Mary  Masters  Needham,  This 
book  discusses  in  a  delightful  and  informal  manner 
different  types  of  festivals  suited  to  the  different  seasons 
of  the  year,  particularly  May  Day,  Thanksgiving,  Christ- 
mas, etc.  It  is  full  of  suggestions  of  what  communities 
can  do  on  these  occasions.     Huebsch,  price  $1.50 

Community  Entertainment 

Producing  Amateur  Entertainments,  by  Helen  Ferris. 
A  book  full  of  suggestions  for  entertainments  of  all 
kinds.  It  contains  material  on  planning  the  program ; 
stage  stunts  for  individuals  and  troups ;  musical  numbers 
and  song  specialties ;  the  minstrel  show  idea ;  organization 

[  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-three  ] 


activities,  in  short  plays,  symbolic  numbers  and  demon- 
strations; organization  activities  in  tableaux,  sightseeing 
tour  stunts;  publicity;  dress  rehearsals  and  the  final 
performance.     E.   P.  Dutton  and  Company,  price  $2.00 

Books   on   Story-Playing 

The  Art  of  Story-Teiling,  by  Marie  Shedlock.  This 
book  goes  more  deeply  into  the  history  and  philosophy 
underlying  the  art  of  storytelling  than  does  any  other 
book.  It  discusses  the  art  of  the  storyteller  from  every 
angle;  gives  splendid  examples  of  what  stories  to  tell 
for  different  types  of  audiences,  and  is  written  in  a 
fascinating  style.     D.  Appleton  Co.,  $2.25 

How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Children,  by  Sarah  Cone 
Bryant.  This  is  a  book  containing  an  enormous  amount 
of  valuable  information.  It  is  compact,  simple  and 
clear.  It  will  prove  invaluable  both  to  the  experienced 
and  inexperienced  storyteller.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
practical,  as  well  as  the  most  poetic  books  on  the  subject. 
It  tells  how  to  tell  a  story  and  gives  examples  of  different 
kinds  of  stories,  as  well  as  different  kinds  of  audiences. 
It  gives  a  list  of  stories  running  from  the  kindergarten 
to  the  sixth  grade.     Brentano's  Book  Shop,  price  $1.40 

The  Out-door  Story  Book,  by  Caroline  Sherwin  Bailey. 
This  book  is  splendid  for  very  little  children.  It  gives 
a  set  of  excellent  stories  serviceable  in  their  simplicity 
and  their  sense  of  climax.  These  stories  teach  the  chil- 
dren to  observe  the  beauty  and  wonder  of  nature. 
Pilgrim  Press,  price  $1.00 

Problems  of^  Dramatic  Play,  by  Mrs.  Howard  S. 
Braucher.  This  little  pamphlet  takes  up  the  subject  of 
story-telling  and  story-playing  as  well  as  drama,  and  is 
invaluable  because  it  sets  practical  material  before  the 
reader  in  the  briefest  possible  space.  It  does  for  the 
storyteller  in  pamphlet  form  what  Sarah  Cone  Bryant 
does  in  book  form.  It  gives  an  excellent  list  of  stories 
as  well  as  suggestions.  Published  by  the  Playground 
&  Recreation  Ass'n  of  America,  pamphlet  No.  108,  5c. 

Storytelling.  A  pamphlet  published  by  the  Playground 
&  Recreation  Association  of  America,  One  Madison 
Avenue,  New  York  City,  price  10c.     This  gives  a  list 

[  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-four 


of  the  best  books  on  storytelling  together  with  sugges- 
tions for  story-playing  as  well  as  excerpts  from  the 
works  of  the  leaders  in  this  movement. 

Books  on  Singing  Games 

Folk  Games  and  Gymnasium  Play,  by  Pederson  and 
Boyd.  This  is  a  helpful  book  for  the  dramatic  worker 
teaching  children  new  to^  dramatics.  It  contains  such 
folk  games  as  The  Musician,  Will  You  Know.  Saul 
Brothers,  price  75c. 

Popular  Folk  Games  and  Dances,  by  Mari  R.  Hofer. 
This  is  a  practical,  useful  book.  It  contains  a  singing 
game  that  will  be  very  popular  with  children,  entitled 
The  Menagerie  Game.    A.  Flanagan  Co.,  price  75c. 

The  Song  Play  Book,  by  Crampton  and  Wollaston. 
This  book  contains  good  material  for  chidren  such  as 
Briar  Rosebud;  The  Farmer;  The  Mulberry  Bu^sh.  A.  S. 
Barnes  Co.,  price  $2.40 

Dramatic  Games  and  Dances  for  Little  Children,  by 
Caroline  Crawford.     A.  S.  Barnes  Company,  price  $2.40 

PUBLISHERS 

Winthrop  Ames,  244  West  44th  Street,  New  York  City 

American  Bible  Society,  Astor  Place,  New  York  City 

D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  35  West  32nd  Street,  New  York  City 

A.  S.  Barnes,  30  Irving  Place,  New  York  City 

C.  C.  Birchard  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Bobbs,  Merrill  Co.,  185  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City 

Brentano's    Bookshop,    Fifth    Avenue    and   27th    Street, 

New  York  City 
Walter  H.  Baker  &  Co.,  5  Hamilton  Place,  Boston,  Mass. 
The  Century  Co.,  353  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
John  Church  Co.,  39  West  32nd  Street,  New  York  City 
Community  Service   (Incorporated),  I  Madison  Avenue, 

New   York   City 
T.  S.  Dennison  &  Co.,  152  W.  Randolph  St.,  Chicago,  111. 
C.  H.  Ditson  &  Co.,  8  East  34th  Street,  New  York  City 
Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  4th  Avenue  and  30th  Street,  New 

York  City 
Doubleday,    Page   &   Co.,    120  West  22nd    Street,    New 

York  City 

[  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-five 


Drama  League  Book  Shop,  29  West  47th   Street,  New 

York  City 
Ralph  Davol,  Taunton,  Mass. 
Dramatic  Publishing  Co.,  542  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago, 

111. 
E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co.,  681  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 

A.  Flanagan,  521  S.  Wabash  St.,  Chicago,  111. 
Samuel  French,  28  West  38th  Street,  New  York  City 
Harcourt,    Brace   &   Howe,    Inc.,    1    West   47th    Street, 

New  York  City 
Harper  &  Bros.,  325  Pearl  St.,  New  York  City 
Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  19  West  44th  Street,  New  York  City 
Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  4  Park  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

B.  W.  Huebsch,  116  West  13th  Street,  New  York  City 
Jewish  Publishing   Society,   148  East  57th  Street,   New 

York  City 
Alfred  A.  Knopf,  220  West  42nd  Street,  New  York  City 
Mitchell  Kennerley,  489  Park  Avenue,  New  York  City 
John  Lane  Co.,  116  West  32nd  Street,  New  York  City 
Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  354  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York 
Macmillan  Co.,  (^  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  31  Union  Square,  W.,  New  York 
Orange,  Judd  Co.,  315  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
Pilgrim  Press,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
Playground    &    Recreation    Association    of    America,    T 

Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City 
Putnam  Sons,  2  West  45th  Street,  New  York  City 
Saul  Brothers,  626  Federal  Bldg.,  Chicago,  111. 
Sanger  &  Jordan,  1432  Broadway,  New  York  City 
Frank  Shay,  4  Christopher  Street,  New  Y'ork  City 
The  Stage  Guild,  Chicago,  111. 

Stewart  &  Kidd,  121  East  Fifth  Avenue,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 
Frederick  Stokes  &  Co.,  443  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York 

City 
Norman  Lee  Swartout,  Summit,  N.  J. 
James  T.  White  &  Co.,  70  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
Theatre  Arts  Magazine,  29  West  47th  Street,  New  York 

City 
Woman's  Press,  600  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York  City 


[  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-six  ] 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL   BE  ASSESSED   FOR   FAILURE  TO    RETURN 
THIS    BOOK   ON    THE   DATE  DUE.    THE   PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
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OVERDUE. 

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